Hallelujah
by cupcakeriot
Summary: After tragedy, Bella Mercer becomes the new social pariah of small, closed-minded preppy Hallows Town, Connecticut - all because she's a pierced, tattooed, eye-liner-loving, guitar-playing Christian. Enter Edward Abbott, the clean-cut son of a Pastor with secret dreams of playing music in a Christian rock band - against his father's wishes. AH. OOC.
1. General Disclaimer

**General Disclaimer of Sorts**

The story line for Hallelujah was inspired by many things including contemporary Christian rock, religious controversies, outrageous religious stereotypes and my own various and colorful religious experiences.

Hallelujah is _in no way, shape or form_ meant to offend anyone.

This is going to be a fiction revolving _around_ religion and will include religious themes but it is not meant to:

preach

preach to the choir

argue with beliefs

change beliefs

support certain beliefs

support any one dogma or theology

It is my hope that, through reading this fiction, I might entertain my lovely readers and provoke thought about certain religious issues.

That said, I am not an expert in any type of religion and I don't expect to be treated as such.

**The Writer's Religion?**

I'd like to give a brief synopsis of my _own_ religious journey.

My religious beliefs involve being exposed to many things; Judaism, Christianity, and years growing up in a Baha'i home.

Growing up, my mother dated a man named Dave. He was Jewish. Their relationship lasted through three years of my most impressionable years. I have celebrated three years of Hanukkah, I love the little chocolate coins, _dreidel_ is still one of my favorite games and synagogues are awesome in general.

Regarding Christianity, I lived with my very Christian best friend for two years during high school and went to Gateway church every Sunday (Gateway, by the way, is the inspiration for the church featured in this story by the same name). I own a bookmarked bible, I still wear my purity ring (woot-woot 18 year old virgins) and I relate the most to God through contemporary Christian rock music.

As for growing up Baha'i? This was my mother's chosen religion and, morally, my favorite, even though my own experiences with this religion are less than stellar (blame the gossiping Middle Eastern harpies of Northern Texas). If you don't know about Baha'i, I suggest giving it the good old Google try – it's worth it.

**Second **_**Pleading**_** Disclaimer:**

Please, give the story a try.

Despite this page you are reading, Hallelujah will not involve that much religion – I promise.

I do not want any flames for this story, because I don't think they are necessary.

If you have suggestions, I'm happy to hear them. I love constructive criticism!

~cupcakeriot


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - God knows I do not own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Jer 29:11_: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

_Bella Mercer_

Bella taps the end of the pen against messy paper. In her element, with notes of music and lyrics dancing through her head, she is nearly oblivious to the world; her entire focus is centered on the scribbled words, the various inks staining both the page and her right hand, and the faded, worn out medium weighted guitar pick grasped between her left thumb and forefinger. She sighs, furiously scratching out the first line of the verse, leaning over the vintage, slightly beat up acoustic guitar resting in her lap.

"No," she murmurs to herself. "That doesn't sound right."

She sits back, biting her lip, humming the tune aloud. The song had come out of nowhere, as they usually did, in the middle of the night – interrupting her sleep. Now, at four in the morning, in an eerily quiet house, she couldn't sleep; simply too wired from the creativity pulsing in her veins. She _had_ to finish the song.

Quietly, Bella strums the strings of the guitar, humming along again, searching for just the right words to start the song. The phrase hits the tip of her tongue, her fingers twitching towards the pen and coffee-stained notebook – and then her bedroom door opens, revealing her elderly Nana.

Immediately, Bella's fingers stop and she turns silent, warily watching the stern dark eyes of Nana. It wasn't that Nana was a mean person – quite the opposite, actually. She was just from a different generation, had different, stricter standards than Bella was used to and Nana didn't truly understand how her only granddaughter could have such a _boyish_ musical hobby.

And then, of course, there was the recent loss – the death of her son and daughter-in-law, who she loved as if she were her own. It hadn't been more than three days since the deer darted in front of her son's easily rolling Jeep; and not twelve hours ago, she and Bella had lowered two caskets into the ground.

Yet here Bella was, sitting straight up in the middle of her bed in tiny shorts Nana didn't approve of, her son's guitar resting on pale legs. Nana takes note of Bella's disheveled hair and the determined glint in her sleep deprived eyes.

Bella offers a weak smile. "Good morning, Nana."

Nana sighs, truly exhausted, as she hadn't been able to sleep either. She suspected that Bella was still reeling from the shock of losing both parents – she didn't really want to make a big deal out of Bella's music, not when Bella had been so diligently resilient throughout this whole ordeal, packing up boxes, going through her parent's personal possessions. To Nana's horror, Bella had also been the one to identify the bodies; Nana shivered just thinking about it.

Her granddaughter was strong – an odd, vibrant, _strong_ young lady. Nana had no doubts that Bella would pull through any trauma she suffered, especially with the loving aid of God and the church.

"We should both go back to bed," Nana says firmly, glancing at the chaotic stacks of boxes, some still opened and unlabeled, that decorated Bella's room. "The movers will be here at eleven."

Bella bites her lip, closing her songbook and hooking her current pen onto the front of the overstuffed notebook. Honestly, Bella's movements were just for show – she hadn't been able to sleep for more than a few hours in this house. Too many memories.

Still, Bella moved off her bed and gently placed her father's guitar in its hardwood, brown leather covered case, snapping the old silver clips that kept the case shut tight. The song wasn't coming to her anyway – and Bella wasn't in the habit of forcing anything, including lyric writing, to happen. She believed things will happen as they were meant to, when they were meant to and how they were meant to happen.

Settling on her bed once again, Bella looks up at Nana, feigning a yawn. Nana smiles very slightly, closing the door behind her, leaving Bella alone in her childhood room.

Bella turns on her side, facing the blank wall that had once housed her collection of band posters; the posters had been nailed up for so long that there were visible outlines of the décor from where the wall had been covered for years. She would miss this room – she would miss this house. She would miss many things; Sunday breakfast before church; her Dad teaching her a new, complicated chord; and, mostly, their smiles. Bella took some small comfort in the fact that they died together and that their deaths were instant, painless – but even that didn't shake the image of them lying pale and unmoving in the morgue of the hospital, only a thin white sheet as a cover.

Bella grits her teeth, squeezing her eyes closed. Nothing she saw, nothing she did, nothing she thought would change the fact that her life was never going to be the same. She vowed to mourn her parents in quiet moments, promised to remember their voices and honor their memories – but now was the time to toughen up and adjust to the rapid changes that were coming her way.

Bella rolls onto her back, staring up at the ceiling for hours, slowly blinking as each moment hoists the sun over the horizon. By the time six rolls around, Bella is up and moving, pulling long messy layers into a high pony tail and slipping into an odd combination of dark green cargo shorts, a black tank top and one of her Dad's old blue and grey flannel shirts.

She works quickly, efficiently; her work ethic often reflected how Bella herself was unforgivably blunt. It was a point of personal pride that she saw things in absolutes; everything was either black or white and while grey areas _did_ exist, she didn't think they had any place in moral decency. It was how she approached life and exactly how she approached working a roll of Scotch packing tape over all the boxes in her room.

Her Dad often called her a _fixer_ – someone who saw something broken or undone and fixed it out of compulsion. It was true enough. Bella didn't operate on pretenses or any romantic notions that time was the go-to healer. She didn't linger. She refused to lie. She simply kept her memories, cherished them, and moved on with admirable strength when unfortunate, terrible events happened. For Bella, this behavior was innate. She'd been born like this and, even as child, had shown amazing resilience to obstacles and conflict.

Huffing out a breath, Bella drops the Scotch tape on the final box and moves onto her bedding, stuffing her sheets and pillows into a black plastic bag. Hardly thirty minutes had passed since Bella gave up sleeping and she was already done with her room.

Feeling a pang of hunger, she moves out into the hallway and towards the kitchen – not that she planned to _cook_, per say. Bella was absolutely hopeless in the kitchen; the only food she could make well was cookies and even that was _baking_.

Sitting alone in the slowly lightening breakfast nook, her eyes rove over her unnaturally _blank_ home – rather, her old home.

Today was moving day.

It had been a joke during her childhood that Nana's house was literally over a river and through some woods but Bella wasn't sure if she would fit in with the tiny town just outside of New Haven. Connecticut was a lot different from upstate New York.

And if Bella was being honest, which she was, there was a steadily growing pit of nerves in her stomach. Bella's bold opinions had often alienated her from peers and she had the distinct notion that life in Hallows Town, Connecticut would be no different.

The movers arrive earlier than eleven; they carefully remove each box from the home, stacking them into the truck to drop off at the storage facility as Bella and Nana cover the furniture with thick sheets. The house was paid off and neither woman could stand the thought of selling it.

Bella climbs in the passenger seat of Nana's car after loading up the boxes from her room, fingers tapping on knees, her head pressed against the seat.

She takes a deep breath.

Exhales.

And as Nana pulls out of the driveway, the song that woke Bella up last night filters through her mind, lyrics effortlessly falling into place. _So your tired but you're alive, so close your eyes and you can sleep when you are dead, kill the clock inside your head…._

* * *

**_A/N: There you have it. The first chapter of Hallelujah…and also the first time writing in third person. Fingers crossed for this story. _**

**_And, yes, Bella's last name is Mercer. You know, like _ mercy? _I'm brilliant, I know. It's important to the story. None of the cannon last names will be appearing._**

**_Side note: Updating for Hallelujah will be sporadic until Blood is completed. _**

**_As always, be brutally honest. I can take it._**

**_~cupcakeriot_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: God knows I do not own Twilight**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"_I could be in love if you wore that dress everyday,  
With your hair just so and your eyes are grey." ~ If by House of Heroes_

_Edward Abbot_

Edward woke to the slam of a car door and the sound of feminine frustration. He groans, pressing his face into his favorite limp pillow, trying desperately to go back to sleep. It was _Saturday_.

Saturdays were Edward's days as far as he was concerned. As the son of a pastor, his Sundays were devoted to church; and since he was a junior in high school, his week days were automatically spoken for.

Saturday was for sleeping in, which was exactly what Edward had planned on doing until _someone_ decided to be obnoxiously loud.

_But wait._

Edward frowns, his eyes still closed. Ester Mercer, his neighbor, was an elderly woman, a widow who lived alone – and the voice Edward was hearing was _young_ and a lot mouthier than Edward thought Ester could ever be.

Curiosity nipped at his mind and the desire to sleep completely disappeared. Ordinarily, Edward would disregard his own ponderings in favor of sacred sleep but there was something _musical_ about this belligerent voice and he felt the uncontrollable need to match the lilting tones to a face.

He rolls out of bed, grabbing a not-_too _-dirty pair of jeans off his floor and rushes as quietly as possible down the stairs. He's lucky; neither of his parents seem to be around, his Dad probably editing his sermon in his study, his Mom either gardening or at the store. For a brief moment, Edward wonders why he would consider this _lucky_ but decides that the situation has the ability to become very embarrassing – he didn't often show an interest in girls, after all.

Licking his lips, he steps onto his porch barefoot, looking to the left, towards the only other house in his cul-de-sac.

_Definitely a girl….who plays guitar._

Edward inhales sharply – already, this girl was proving to be unique. He knew of no other girl around his age that bothered to play guitar, not in Hallows Town. And, apparently, her guitar was stuck between the boxes stacked in the backseat and the rear window; the girl was halfway in the small car, tugging fruitlessly.

Without thinking too much about it, Edward jogs over, coming to a stop just behind the girl and peering at her problem. Spotting the issue, Edward clears his throat. "I think that if you-"

"Ouch!" the girl screeches as her head hits the roof of the car.

Edward frowns – he hadn't meant to startle her. "Are you okay?"

The girl ducks out of the car, standing straight with one hand pressed to the back of her head and a scowl on her startlingly pretty face. "_God_, that hurt!" she mutters, rubbing her hand over her head, as if she could rub the sharp pain right out. Her eyes dart to him. "Who are you?" she demands.

Edward blinks.

He swallows.

He didn't think he'd ever felt to nervous so suddenly – even his palms were sweating – but, then again, how could he not? She was the most stunning girl he'd ever seen and she was clearly not even at her best.

Her dark hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail that was slightly lopsided, tendrils of hair escaping and framing a delicately constructed face; day-old fading black liner rimmed her eyes and smudged under her lower lashes. And yet, it only added to her docile appeal. Edward was entranced by the heavy sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her slightly upturned nose, drawn to bee-stung lips and rendered mindless by large, wide round blue-grey colored eyes.

He swallows again, shaking his head. "I'm Edward," he tells her, desperately trying to get a grip on his mind.

_She's just a girl, _he tells himself. _Just a girl who happens to be temptation incarnate. Lord, help me._

She squints slightly at him. "Where did you come from?"

"Neighbor," he says, pointing to his house behind him.

The girl's eyes follow his hands and she nods, apparently accepting his solo syllable explanation. "Okay," she says, turning back to continue with her guitar case.

"Here," Edward interjects. "Let me."

She eyes him warily before stepping away from the car, leaving Edward ample space to maneuver the worn down brown leather case out of the car. His fingers graze torn and scratched edges of the case and he smiles to himself; clearly, this guitar got a lot of use. It was refreshing to see – and it made him all the more curious about the girl.

Carefully, he pulls the guitar case from the car and hands it to the girl, admiring her long, thin fingers, the nails short and painted a dark green.

He watches as the girl's full lips pull into a soft smile. "Thanks," she says, pausing and eyeing him with a slightly critical eye. Edward straightens his shoulders, even as he feels his ears heat up. "You mind helping with the boxes?"

"Uh, sure-"

"Bella!"

Both teenagers look towards the elderly woman standing on her wrap-around porch. Edward notices that the girl – Bella – seems to sigh and wonders why. Sure, Ester Mercer was the only person in Hallows Town that handed out all natural fruit rolls at Halloween, but she was a perfectly nice lady.

"Yeah, Nana?" Bella replies, turning her back to Edward.

Ester wrings her hands, a short expression of pain crossing her face. "The movers just called," she says. "They got your parent's stuff stored but they did drop on of the boxes marked fragile."

Bella steps closer and looks down; Edward watches closely as her shoulders slump forward just a bit. "Which box?" she whispers. Edward, standing not three feet from her, struggles to hear but by the expression on Ester's face, she heard perfectly clearly.

Ester glances at Edward briefly before coming down the steps of her porch and wrapping a single arm around Bella's shoulders. "I'm afraid it was your mother's glass jewelry box."

Edward didn't understand – not immediately, at least. Clearly, he was missing something. He wasn't slow, though; understanding dawned on him when Bella suddenly turned into Ester's arms and let out a harsh, heartbroken sob.

_I do not need to be a witness to this_.

But he can't move. He's frozen – he can almost _feel_ the pain rolling off Bella's shoulders.

Edward tugs on his hair, wanting to leave but also too entranced by the dark pink flush on Bella's cheeks as she cries – _she looks like an angel in mourning._

"I should have taken that box with me," Bella cries into Ester's shoulders, shameless in her display of weakness, seemingly have forgotten Edward's presence.

Ester works to calm the girl and ushers her into the house. Edward remains in the same place, still unable to leave because there was just _something_ about the girl that called to him. And he doesn't feel too bad about remaining in place because Ester doesn't seem too surprised to see him standing by the still-loaded car.

She smiles sadly at him. "I see you've met my granddaughter."

Edward bobs his head in a motion that is all-too common for teenagers. He scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah. I noticed she was having trouble unloading the car," he says, pausing awkwardly. "Is she going to be okay?"

A shadow crosses Ester's face. "I'm afraid her parents passed away a few days ago. It was dark, raining and there was a deer in the road," she tells him by way of explanation. "She's been coping so well but I can tell it's hard for her. And she looks so much like them, especially my son." Ester laughs a bit. "She even has his wretched insomnia. I caught her playing that guitar last night."

He smiles – that happens to him sometimes, too. The music woke him and he just had to write it down, never mind that he didn't have the guts to actually _play_ the music he wrote. He knew how to play both guitar and piano but his Dad had made it very clear that music would not be Edward's path.

He was supposed to graduate.

He was supposed to get into a nice Christian college, major in theology and follow his father's example – be a Pastor, have a family.

Wash, rise, repeat with the next generation.

Edward shakes his head, blinking at Ester, getting back to the topic at hand – Bella. "I was going to help bring these boxes inside," he hints, fighting an embarrassed flush when Ester eagerly agrees, gushing in the way that only elderly woman can about how nice young, strong men are.

Some of the boxes he carries are heavy and he wonders what Bella might have packed up – more music, maybe? He also wondered if she was Christian because she didn't _look_ like she would be, not with the old eye make up on her face. At least, she certainly didn't look like any Christian he'd ever seen, but who was he to judge? He harbored secret musical dreams; at least Bella had the guts to play her instrument in her own home.

When he's done lugging all six boxes – plus the guitar case – to the nook underneath the stairs, he wanders into the kitchen, looking for Ester. Finding her chopping fresh spring vegetables, he smiles. "Will you be at church tomorrow?" he asks, fully aware that sometimes people preferred to mourn in private; there was a family in the congregation that skipped two Sundays after a relative passed away. But he also knew that Ester had never missed a service for as long as he could remember.

Ester pauses, her eyes flicking towards the stairs visible through the entry of the kitchen. "Bella and I will be there. I think we need a little bit of God's love to help us through this time."

Edward nods silently, respecting Ester's unwavering faith.

* * *

**A/N: From this point forward, my normal review method will be reinstated since I just posted the first two chapters together.**

**Thoughts?**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.  
**

**~cupcakeriot**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer****: God knows I do not own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter three**

_1 Pet 5:7: Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you._

_Bella Mercer_

Bella felt like she couldn't breathe.

Her mother's jewelry box, the one that Bella silently admired, as a little girl, the one filled with her mother's treasures, was shattered – shattered just as thoroughly as Bella's life. _I should be angry_, Bella thought wildly. _I should be so mad I can't see straight. But all I can do is cry_.

The box was clearly marked _fragile_ and, knowing this, Bella even acknowledged that accidents happened; surely it wasn't carelessness that had destroyed her mother's jewelry box. And if it _was_ carelessness, then it was _Bella's_ , because she had thoughtlessly packed it away in a snug box and assumed it would be fine.

The destruction of the delicate blue-tinted glass box was on Bella's shoulders and she would bear that guilt with grace because there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, not anymore.

Sniffling, Bella wipes the tears off her face and sits up, looking around the room that she would now call hers. It was plain, in a way, having no personal artifacts or distinctly loud decorations – but it also wasn't _Bella_. The wallpaper was made of pink roses; the furniture was white; the bed-skirt was made of _lace_.

But she was thankful for the space and even more thankful that it was on the top floor of the house, along with her own bathroom and another guest bedroom. Nana's bedroom was downstairs and on the other side of the house, affording Bella the same privacy and freedom that she was used to. And Bella had a feeling that Nana would be willing to make changes to the space – like maybe soundproofing or painting the walls.

_I should clear that wall for my posters_, she thinks absently, gazing at the flowery room. _Maybe I won't even paint. The difference between the wallpaper and my posters would be hilariously ironic_.

Nodding at her own thoughts, Bella climbs off the bed, wincing at the protesting squeak of the box spring – another thing to be fixed – and moves to the bay window. The three dimensions of the window were Bella's favorite feature in the room, especially the comfortable cushioned bench built right underneath. She could easily see herself sitting in the window and writing her music in the middle of the night.

Peeking out, she spots her new neighbor – the interesting, shy, almost awkward boy. He was taller than most boys she'd seen and had broad shoulders, but his build was compact, lanky, and his hands were covered in oh-so-familiar calluses. His hair was the _oddest_ shade too, something between brown and red with a certain sheen in the sun. And his eyes were such a disarming coke-bottle green that Bella wasn't sure if she could be around him, not to mention_ talk _to him. But he _had_ startled her – clearly, he'd been watching her struggle with that guitar case.

Strangely, Bella couldn't find it in herself to get mad about it.

She didn't linger on the thought – simply silently watched him carry in her boxes and talk to her Nana in a friendly, neighborly way.

_Edward_, she thinks suddenly, watching him handle her guitar case with a certain reverence. _His name is Edward. Fitting._

Bella struggled for a moment, not used to finding anyone so clean-cut _interesting_, but she did and she refused to deny it. She didn't think anything would come from it, of course – and how could she? She was in quiet, silent mourning. She wasn't ready for Edward.

Maybe she never would be.

That was okay with Bella. She had music. And nobody ever really liked her anyway – why would _Edward_ be any different?

The next day, after a night of sleepless song writing, Bella and Nana went to church and Bella observed that Edward wouldn't be any different.

_Church_ was a loose term for the mega-worship building in New Haven that, apparently, the entirety of Hallows Town and their spawn attended. The building itself was sleek, all glass and flat, contemporary planes, a total of three stories, a hundred different rooms and a three-tier auditorium. Silently, Bella was impressed that something like this even _existed_ in Connecticut – she hadn't even seen something like this in New York City. The church she and her parents attended sporadically was a small one on a hill – a far cry from this bustling, breathing mammoth of a building. _Church_ simply didn't adequately describe it.

As tired as Bella was, she thought she was imaging the looks she was getting – at first, at least. True, there were bags under her eyes because she couldn't remember the last time she slept for more than a few hours, but she thought the thick rim of black liner would distract from the evidence of her insomnia.

Bella frowns slightly, glancing down at the ripped up black skinny jeans, Sharpie-covered neon purple Converse and another of her Dad's dark flannel shirts, tied loosely at the tails underneath her belly button – and then she quickly notes the alarming amount of pastel skirts worn by the rest of the female congregation. In comparison, Bella looked out of place and it made her distinctly uncomfortable.

She didn't understand the judgment, not really at least. Why should she be judged for what she was wearing – she was here because she loved God.

Wasn't that what mattered? The worship?

Shaking her head in mild disgust, she follows Nana silently through the parting crowd – and tried not to take offense when several older women glared at her, pulling their grandchildren away, out of Bella's path.

Nana steps up to a kiosk and checks in, the machine spitting out two nametags, handing one to Bella; if Nana noticed the looks being sent her granddaughter's way, she didn't say anything about it.

Bella pulls her hair over her shoulder and sticks the nametag on her father's shirt, absently reaching up to fiddle with the purity ring that hung from her neck on a long silver chain, unknowingly flashing the sharp eyes of the congregation the slashes of ink on her left ring finger.

A woman around Nana's age gasps in outrage, stomping towards the unknowing teenager and tugging pale, thin fingers towards her. Automatically, Bella tries to pull away, startled and more than a little weeded out that an old woman was trying to hold her hand – or, rather, her _wrist_.

The older woman shakes Bella's hand roughly. "Young lady!" she says sharply, drawing the attention of the entire lobby. "What is _this_?"

Bella jerks her arm back, rubbing at the slightly reddened skin and looks at the plump older woman. Beside her, Nana looks completely shocked. "What?"

"_That_," the woman spits. "On your finger!"

Bella blinks. "My tattoo?"

The woman sputters angrily, turning her glare on Nana. "Ester! How dare you let this hooligan-"

"Maxine-"

"Hey!" Bella injects, her voice ripe with offense and easily rising above the whispering din of voices. "I'm hardly a hooligan," she argues.

Maxine snorts rudely, completely ignoring Bella. "Ester, she can't be here. Her kind don't respect us-"

"My _kind_?" Bella repeats, feeling heat rising in her face. She takes a deep, calming breath and thrusts her hand underneath Maxine's nose. "Since you didn't _notice_, can I point out that my tattoo clearly reads _Jesus_?"

Bella was outraged – she'd never experienced this type of public humiliation. And it _was_ humiliating. Her emotions were so raw lately and she felt angry tears pricking behind her eyes.

The tattoo was Bella's first and most important – one she'd gotten with her Mom last year when she turned sixteen. The script was elegant, wrapping around the top of her left ring finger and directly on top sat a delicate heart with a single cross inside; on the underside of her finger were two slashes, forming an equal sign in support of Bella's personal opinion about marriage. The memory of getting the tattoo was still sharp and, after the week she'd had, one that had been revisited often.

And now Maxine was _tainting _it.

* * *

**A/N: Damn that Maxine! Right?**

**Sadly, something similar _did_ happen to me when I went to church with a friend in high school. It was a super casual church, you know? Everyone was wearing jeans. Now, understand, I was 15 so I was all about black eyeliner and band shirts and skinny jeans and that's exactly what I wore to church – and some old lady really did call me a _heathen_. I was like, what? Because I'm dressed a certain way?**

**Oh well. Just know that if anything in this story seems a bit "too out there", it probably _did_ happen to me. My experiences with religion haven't all been sunshine and rainbows.**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews of the last chapter (plus guests):**

**Debslmac - :D Thanks for reading this one, too!**

**james3142 – I thought I would try something out that was all human and that had a lot of personal emotion attached to it. I think this story will do it. I have my issues with organized religion, too. And yep, Edward's dad is one of those clichéd, closed-minded Pastors that believes music is the devil's toy since Lucifer was the angel of music. Whatever. I'm listening to Imagine Dragons and shakin' in my boots lol**

**AnnaTheBookWorm – Yep! Just remember it's not _all_ about the religion – it's mostly about Edward and Bella lol**

**Sunshine72 – I'm relieved you like it!**

**Midnight Angels Say GoodNight – Yep, Edward does like her, in his own semi-awkward way. How will Edward's father take it? Hmmmm.**

**Dinotopian – No! Thank you! :D**

**sujari6 – You and me both. I think there's going to be some surprises along the way!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – I just can't manage to make an asshole Edward lol**

**Theoddwallflower – I'm glad! Thank you!**

**Superspecial shout out to the first review of the last chapter, BMSCullen – Yep. Playing with fire. Hoping I'm not gonna get too burned lol**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer****: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter four**

"_Your clothes are smooth and spotless,  
The air is putrid sewage, downwind of your pressed church clothes,  
Your eyes are black and empty,  
Your deeds are just for showing how big and bright your fake smile glows." ~Flyleaf_

_Bella Mercer_

Bella doesn't afford the older woman the opportunity to respond and she ignores the gawking congregation with admirable stubbornness. "I'm _Christian_, just like you. I love God. How I choose to love God doesn't have a _damn_ thing to do with you."

"Oh, how dare you!"

"Are you _kidding me_, lady?"

At this point, Bella could almost feel the eyes on her but she was way past caring. She watched with barely restrained disbelief as Maxine geared up again, red so dark rising in her bloated, sweaty face that it was almost purple, when a smooth voice attached to a dark blond head literally stepped between them. It was comical how Maxine's demeanor instantly shifted and she stepped a clean three feet away from Bella.

"Is there a problem here?"

Maxine pats her head, smoothing her frizzy hair. "Of course not, Pastor Abbott," she says quickly. "I was just explaining to Ester how inappropriate her guest's attire was when that _girl_ started cursing me."

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing – in fact, she was certain she was dreaming. But as she glances around at the witnesses and sees them nodding along, _agreeing_ with Maxine, the reality sets in. With huge, confused, hurt eyes, Bella looks towards a stone-faced Nana and Bella's stomach plummets.

_I didn't even think for a second how embarrassed Nana must be. But she didn't say anything about how I was dressed when we left the house-_

"I see," Pastor Abbott responds blandly.

"Pastor," Nana pipes up. "I'm afraid I can't agree with Maxine's account. _She_ was the one who grabbed my granddaughter and harassed her about the tattoo she has on her hand."

Bella had been relieved when Nana spoke up – especially since Nana didn't seem mad at _her_ – but her hope instantly disappeared when the Pastor's shoulders straightened and he narrowed his eyes at Bella. "Tattoo?" he repeats flatly.

For the second time in two minutes, Bella shows the innocent – to her – tattoo and watches as the Pastor passed judgment. "You'll have to cover that up," he orders and, without a second glance, looks towards the congregation. "The auditorium is ready to seat God's eager audience," he announces, moving to open the doors, and leaving Bella and Nana standing in his wake.

Bella's fist clenches along with her jaw. She looks down for a moment and then at Nana. "Maybe I should wait outside," she says stiffly, stepping against the current of the crowd. It was no secret to Bella that Nana never missed a Sunday service, rain or shine, and she didn't want to interrupt her grandmother's life any more than necessary.

"Bella." Nana tries, reaching a withering hand towards the young girl.

Bella shakes her head. "No, it's okay. It's better this way," Bella stresses, quickly turning on her heel and heading for the glass doors.

Her stomach, which had been near the floor, plummets along with her heart when she sees Edward standing with a group of sneering teenagers, frowning at her as she passes.

_Of course, he wouldn't be different_.

Once outside, the silence is suffocating, even though the air is cleansing. Bella's heart – and her mind – hurt something fierce. She didn't know_ why_ but she had been expecting something different from Edward – and yet, apparently, her peers were just as judgmental and closed-minded as the rest of her new church. It was distinctly disappointing and she felt foolish for having such blind hope.

_I should know better by now_.

Bella shivers, settling against the flat side of the church, rolling her eyes at the radiobroadcast of Pastor Abbott's service. After his general greeting, Bella's brows furrow – because that sounded an awful lot like _live_ guitar.

In fact, it sounded an awful lot like a _band_.

Leaning her back more snugly against the building, Bella listens to the progression of worship songs and live music with disbelief. Nana went to a church like this? The idea was so fresh and the music definitely had a rock edge – Bella instantly wanted to see what was going on but then she remembered her not-so-warm welcome.

Her eyes dart down to the tattoo wrapped around her ring finger. To her, it was the greatest declaration of her love for God – if she were ever to get married, Christ would be in conjunction with her wedding vows.

Bella snorts – _right, like I'll be getting married_.

Light, tinkling laughter shakes her out of the negative train of thought, and Bella looks up, towards the sleek playground. Something stirs in Bella and she finds herself standing, making her way towards the oblivious little girl. It was a bright day outside, the sun only serving to highlight the blinding copper and blond tones of the child's shiny, curly hair; the girl didn't look more than five years old and was singing along with the worship music piping from the church.

Bright blue eyes lock onto Bella's, the gaze so open and pure that it's incredibly disarming – and there was _such_ kindness in those eyes, despite the glaring bruise on the little cheek. Bella smiles, her mind working quickly, identifying the clunky neon pink cast on the girls left arm and her dirty little Mary-Jane's. Everything about this innocent creature screamed _abused_ and it tugged at something deep inside Bella.

In the span of one moment, Bella promised herself to do _something_ to save this little girl. Nothing so innocent should suffer.

Taking a deep breath, being careful to keep her face and tone warm, Bella smiles. "Hi. I'm Bella. What's your name?"

The girl smiles in response, showing off a missing front tooth – though Bella was sure _that_ was because a new, adult tooth was already growing in. "I'm Laila."

Bella sits down on the swing next to her, casually swaying back and forth and observes Laila from the corner of her eye; beaten, maybe, but the girl certainly wasn't broken. Bella refused to let this little girl be broken.

"You like swinging?" Laila asks happily, pumping her legs to gain height and momentum.

"It's my favorite playground activity," Bella replies, matching her swing's pace to Laila's. "Is it yours, too?"

Laila's head bounces. "I really like swings, especially those pretty ones some kids have on trees."

"I've always wanted one of those, too. Made with a tire."

"A tire?"

"Yep," Bella says.

Laila's eyes are wide. "I didn't know people made swings outta tires."

Bella leans back a little bit, watching with a wary eye as Laila's swing goes higher. "As long as you have a nice tree, I'm sure you could make a swing out of just about anything."

Laila pauses, as if thinking very seriously about Bella's words, then nods with distinct resolution. "Totally."

In the background, Pastor Abbott's gentle voice starts the sermon but Bella barely pays it any mind; she finds peace playing with the little girl on the playground, moving from the swings to the slide, asking carefully curious questions. If she was going to help Laila, she needed to know what was happening in the girl's home life.

"So Laila, why are you out here all alone?"

"My mommy said I should stay outside today," Laila admits freely, leaning closer to Bella. "'Sides, the other kids don't like me too much."

"What about your daddy?"

"He came back from the big city this weekend!" Laila exclaims with excitement. "He's not home during the weeks but he's not very nice to Mommy when he is home, so that's okay, too."

Sensing the child's sudden sadness, Bella steers the topic quickly away from Laila's parents. She had to bite her tongue to keep from asking about the little girl's broken arm, especially since people were now pouring out of the church and giving Bella _and _Laila dirty looks.

It didn't escape her notice, though, that the few children who wandered onto the playground gave Laila a wide berth – and out of everything Bella had learned about the little girl, this is what angered her most.

_Why?_ Bella didn't understand. _Why was she ostracized?_

But she bottled it up and smiled at Laila, who seemed oblivious to the exclusion – or maybe the little girl learned not to care about the exclusion, just like Bella did.

A dark shadow falls over Laila's swinging body, drawing Bella's eyes to a tall, broad, stocky man with a stern face and an expensive suit; behind him, a meek woman in a ankle-length dress and slightly dead eyes offers Laila a hand.

"Let's go," the man says gruffly, turning on his heel without giving Bella a single glance, which is just _fine _with Bella. The woman gently urges Laila away, offering a confused smile to the teenager on the swing set.

Laila waves good-bye in the enthusiastic way only children can.

Bella waves back, her eyes sharp on the man who seems to berate the woman and child as soon as they are out of ear-shot – he drives recklessly off the church lot, causing worry to twist in Bella's stomach.

Pinching her lips together, Bella stands, a plan beginning to form in her mind. Ignoring the distrustful glances of the congregation, Bella finds Nana and they leave, the ride home silent though not tense as Bella looks through the church service handout about the sermon.

At home, going up the steps to her room, Bella stops. "Nana?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you still a foster parent?"

"Yes," Nana answers. "Why?"

Bella shakes her head. "No reason," she answers, crossing the short hall to her room.

She sits on her bed, cracking open her coffee-stained notebook and clicking her pen – stuck with inspiration from her tumultuous day. _Time for surrender, spread out your open hands, and He will raise you up, confessing all that's broken_.

* * *

**A/N: Another installment of Hallelujah! Can I ask a favor? Drop me your favorite religious scripture – from the Bible, from something else, whatever. Let me hear it! It's going to be used at the beginning of the chapters!**

Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter (plus guests):

Valentine Rain – Live and Let Live is one of the best philosophies to live by!

Jansails – I'm actually doing a huge, really bad stereotype of Connecticut in that most everyone is rich, white, Christian and "perfect" in a _very_ Stepford Wives way. I know that Connecticut isn't really like that, but for the purpose of this story, Hallows Town is exactly like that.

LunaDiSangue85 – Hey Luna, I'm so sorry you had to endure a church environment like that. We're not in the 1800's for a reason, you know? And I agree – seriously, clothes don't matter. Too bad it's going to be an issue! Lol

Salviana – Sorry to bring up memories, especially if they were painful. It seems like religion does that to people.

Dreamzuvedward – I don't think we'll ever really know why people act a certain way using the word of God or Jesus or whatever they're higher power is. It's just the way of human, I guess.

boo1414 – You're review was spot on!

Flavia Ribeiro – Another on point review that I totally agree with!

sassygirl156 – Judgment was a huge part of all my religious experiences so, it'll be coming up a lot with this character.

Twilight Rocker 12 – This is great insight – maybe all this judgment is just an American-culture thing? You're from New Zealand and being judged for how you dress is completely foreign to you…something to think about, I think, as a society.

Special shout out to the first review of the last chapter, jeasterl – Churchians is right! I think that's a really great way to make light of something that plagues religion in general; going to a religious center just to save face.

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer****: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter five**

"_Bring your normalcy to the edge,_

_And watch it drown in new horizons."_

_~Flyleaf_

_Bella Mercer_

"I don't understand how a town _this_ small requires uniforms for school," Bella mutters to herself as she fits the navy, white and black plaid skirt on her hips, fruitlessly tugging the hem down, though the skirt was very modest. "Maybe because it's a rich small town?"

Bella sighs heavily, her delicate face droll as she gazes at the full length mirror standing against the wall beside her little closet. Plaid skirt, crisp white button-down shirt, black vest, navy tie – shorter than the boy's version – and a matching navy blazer, all issued by her new school. She looked very _prep_ and, for Bella, this was foreign, even though her parents were very well off – she'd never gone to school in a uniform. Ever. And she decided that _now_ shouldn't be any different.

Jutting her chin out with determination, Bella flips through the _Student Code of Conduct_ for Hallows Town School, smiling with relief as she reads the dress code. Glancing at the clock, she hurries back to her closet, pulling out a classic white Rolling Stones shirt and her favorite pair of clunky black leather lace-up boots. She changes clothes, slipping the vest back on after tying her shoes; Bella finally feels like herself after drawing thick kohl liner around her eyes.

Downstairs, Bella grabs an apple and salutes Nana, who looks on with an amused smile.

"Should I drive you?"

Bella shakes her head. "It's ten minutes away by foot. I'll be okay. I even have an umbrella."

The faint traces of concern completely vanished from Nana's eyes – not even a full week had passed since the tragedy and Bella was back to the vibrant, strong girl Nana loved. "Don't get into trouble."

"Who, me?" Bella finishes her apple, tossing the core into the trash. "See you later, Nana."

Bella walks the mile to the school, her pace fluid, her mind somewhere else; silently mourning her parents, wondering about Laila, lamenting a new start of school in the middle of the semester, and pondering the quaint structure of Hallows Town. The town is _small_, no bigger than seven miles in diameter, all the homes clustered on the outer edges, yet somehow secluded in the thick forest. It was almost a shock coming across the large red brick school, which educated kindergarten through twelfth grade; the school itself was part of town square, across from the one diner, the organic grocery, and a few small shops, along with the town hall building. Bella came across the sudden flurry of activity – kids of all ages converging around the schoolyard, several cars driving on the road – with a small stumble as the old pavement gave way to smooth asphalt, leaving the tree-heavy road behind as she skirts around groups of people, moving with a steady pace towards the four-story building.

It doesn't surprise Bella when the noisy babble of conversation comes to an abrupt halt when she steps through a set of open double doors – after all, she seems to be the _only_ kid with enough guts to bend the dress code.

Head held high, feathers unruffled, Bella turns to the group beside her. "Front office?" she asks a short teenager with a cap of dark hair.

The girl opens her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a cool male voice that immediately grated on Bella's nerves.

Looking towards the balding man, Bella sighs; she knew the type and concluded that this was either the principal of the school or a teacher on a power trip. "Young lady, what are you _wearing_?"

"The uniform," Bella replies dryly.

The balding man huffs and it seems like every eye in the hallway is on Bella – she can't find it in her to care. If they want to watch, let them watch. She had absolutely no shame, even though she wanted to be accepted; she wasn't ever going to _fit in_ anyway and she certainly wasn't going to change who she was just to make friends.

"That is _not_ the uniform."

Bella blinks, reaching a hand into the well-loved canvas messenger bag hanging from her shoulder. _I had a feeling this would happen_, she sighs, flipping open the little handbook. "Actually, according to the _Student Code of Conduct_, section B, part 1, _all girls must wear the school issued skirt, closed-toe shoes and at least one of the following; white shirt, school issued vest, school issued tie or school issued blazer_," she reads. Pausing, she gestures to her outfit, raising her chin. "As you can see, I'm adhering to the set rules."

"You have a smart mouth, don't you, girl?"

Bella shrugs. She didn't particularly think her mouth was smart – but _maybe_ it could be.

The short girl and another girl from that group giggle at the balding man's expression – down the hall, Bella can hear a deep chortle, suddenly cut off with a yelp.

"Do you know who you're talking to, young lady?"

Bella puts the _Student Code of Conduct_ back into her bag. "Uh, the principle?"

"No," a smooth feminine voice cuts in. "That would be me. Principle Jayne." The woman is dressed in a smart black pantsuit and carries herself with a confident air; blue eyes flick towards the balding man. "Felix, please refrain from harassing the students."

The balding man – _Felix_ – sputters, his face red as he suddenly realizes his spotlight in the hallway, children of various ages snickering at his chastisement.

Principle Jayne ignores the man, turning her gaze back to her new student, eyes critically gazing at the attire. "You're clever, Miss Mercer," she compliments, her lips twisting into a wry smile that Bella immediately wanted to master. "I see no issue with your choice of clothing, but I expect to see your face clear of those piercings tomorrow."

Bella's fingers flutter up to her brow, grazing the smooth silver loops on her brow. "Understood."

The issue resolved, Bella watches the principle as she dismisses the hall before beckoning Bella to follow her to the front office. After the elderly woman gets over her shock at Bella's dress, Bella receives her schedule and locker combination, along with the books required for her classes. Principle Jayne lingers, waiting until Bella's business is done before sidling up to the girl. "If you have any problems, let me know," the woman says, smiling slightly.

Bella nods mutely, gathering her books and heading excusing herself – she was slightly shell-shocked that the _principle_ of all people seemed to be the most accepting. If anything, the principle seemed amused at how the student handbook was interpreted; almost as if Principle Jayne had respect for Bella bucking tradition. She shakes the thought off, thankful that she could feel _normal_ during school hours, at least for her clothing choices.

Her first classes of the day are uneventful; be introduced to the class, sit in whatever seat available, keep quiet and, after class, receive catch-up homework. Apparently, Hallows Town School was all about make-up work and Bella, being a new student, was no exception. And that was fine with Bella – despite her appearance labeling her as a slacker, Bella was very smart and was actually ahead of the curriculum at her new school. As far as she was concerned, all of these weeks-old assignments were busywork; something to do during lunch, which is exactly what she planned to do.

After stashing a few textbooks in her already lived-in locker, Bella takes her time meandering down the four flights of stairs to the ground floor, where the kindergarten classes, library, cafeteria and office were located. As far as she understood it from the map given to her earlier, the second floor was for elementary grades, the third floor assigned to middle school and high school classes on the fourth floor. There was a gymnasium in the back of the school, a separate three-story building that also housed the music, theatre and arts departments; a playground sat to the left, fenced in, and to the right was a soccer field that doubled for football and had a track around it. It was in the small courtyard between the gym building and the school building that Bella found a quiet solace against a large tree, her back fitting perfectly against the rough bark.

She stretches, arching her back until it pops and plucking out a plastic-wrapped peanut butter sandwich from her bag.

Her lunch hour was apparently the same time for elementary recess and the middle school gym period – the noise faded into the background for Bella, who was quickly preoccupied by the song that had been writing itself since the night of her parent's funeral. It was almost done. It just needed _something_ that Bella couldn't identify yet.

Swallowing her current bite of food, she hums a few bars of the verse to herself, furrowing her brows when she comes to what is supposed to be the chorus. _Nothing fits here yet_, she thinks when the words simply fail to come to her yet again.

"I love The Stones," a voice suddenly says.

Startled, Bella's eyes dart up to the dark shadow standing in front of her, the male body eclipsing the sun. She squints as he sits down a few feet from her, long legs folded up casually, a riot of curly dark blond hair on his head and solemn dark blue eyes intent on hers.

"Pistachio?" he offers, holding out a large bag of peeled nuts.

Bella offers a faint smile. "Thanks," she says, taking a few and slowly crunching on them. "Stones after The Beatles."

"Jagger over McCartney."

Eyes wide, Bella shakes her head. "No way! McCartney had much better melody."

"Jagger had better range."

"Only by a thin margin."

The stranger shrugs, plucking a pistachio out of the bag and tossing it into his mouth. "Debatable."

"Hardly," Bella snorts, reaching for another nut. She pauses before she eats it. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Jasper."

* * *

**A/N: Heads up on the next chapter – keep in mind that this is a happy story but there has to be some bumps in the road!**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews (plus guests) for the last chapter:**

**manda2784 – thank you so much for the song recommendation! I might not be able to use it in this story, but I'll keep it in mind!**

**Jansails – Very apt observations; I'll have to work hard to keep you surprised!**

**CdrIvanova – That's awesome! I would be an atheist too, but I believe that there's _some_ sort of higher power – probably not the ones mentioned in scripture, but something.**

**Flavia Ribeiro – I read your review to Pastor Abbott; he's now sitting in a dark corner lol**

**LunaKaleidoscope – They're not inbred, they're fictional lol I'm taking all the bad stereotypes and clustering them all together.**

**sujari6 – Bella is…Bella lol I'm not sure if she's a better Christian, but maybe she's a much more true Christian.**

**Dinotopian – Thank you!**

**Guest – Glad that you're reading! Thank you for the scripture recommendation!**

**Guest2 - ;) Ah, you caught the Flyleaf reference. I see a fan! Lol Yes, and that song will be featured!**

**boo1414 – I think our Bella will find happiness!**

**Jwo38 – Exactly! Faith can be polarizing; I'm going to explore as many aspects as I possible can!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer****: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

_Romans 10:11-13: For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for all the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him, for "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." _

Bella Mercer

Bella faintly admires the dark low lights in Jasper's hair, how nicely they contrast with the almost bleached-out tips; his hair was a statement that Bella appreciated. "Got a last name?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You didn't even ask for my name in the first place."

Jasper scoffs. "I don't need to. Everyone knows who you are, Bella Mercer. Even the little kids."

She quirks a brow. "Then why would you ask for my last name."

Jasper shrugs. "Don't know. Cohen, by the way."

"Cohen." Bella echoes, brows furrowing.

Jasper smiles widely. "Yep. You're looking at the only Jewish guy in the whole school.

Bella smiles back, genuine. "So this town does have some variety."

"Some," Jasper agrees. "But not much."

Brows furrowed, Bella leans back against the tree again. Something about Jasper put her at ease – she'd never had a best friend before, but she could see one in Jasper. "What do you mean?"

Jasper blinks slowly, eating another pistachio. Bella takes note of how utterly calm he is, as if he didn't have a care in the world; she admired that, especially since sometimes she wished her personality let her be calm instead of painfully blunt.

Sweeping a lock of curly hair out of his eye, Jasper sighs. "It's really the parents and the teenagers. All the others are too young to care or too old to care about," he says, dark blue eyes lazily catching Bella's. "Religious politics, I guess. They welcome you with open arms here, but not behind closed doors."

Bella quirks a brow. "That's not my experience."

Jasper lifts one side of his mouth. "No? Maybe it's because I don't surround myself with judgment, then."

"Maybe." Bella shrugs. "They shun me in the open."

Jasper nods sagely, understanding crossing his face. "That's because you're supposed to be one of them," he decides. "But you're not."

Looking away from Jasper, Bella tilts her head back, eyes locked on the new leaves on the tree, fresh and dewy from the morning, newly born from the return of spring. It was Bella's favorite time of the year.

"No," she agrees. "I'm not. I don't want to be, either."

Quietly, so softly Bella almost doesn't hear, Jasper speaks. "I'm Jewish," he repeats.

Bella turns her eyes back to him, her face scrunched up in thought. "Why does that matter?"

For a moment, Jasper doesn't react – he isn't sure how to, really. In his three years in Hallows Town, he'd never come across anyone, except his parents, that didn't _care_ his religion made him different; it was refreshing. It wasn't that the students at Hallows Town School hated Jasper – but to a certain degree, they ignored him. Nice enough, but distant.

Bella Mercer, a slip of girl, would make a difference in this town – Jasper could feel it in his bones. And he had a distinct feeling that he would be right there, going along for the ride.

Jasper smiles, a rare, lazy, true smile that he didn't often show anyone. "I guess it doesn't matter."

Bella smiles back. "It doesn't. Can I have another pistachio?"

When the lunch bell ring, Jasper demands to see her schedule, pleased that they share the last two classes of the day; he sticks to her side as they trek up four flights, making small talk about various music. Bella is impressed with his knowledge and the fact that he dabbled in playing bass - she offers an invite for Saturday, encouraging him to bring his instrument. It's a painful reminder of her loss that the last person she played with was her father; Bella was adamant that it would change immediately.

Jasper agrees easily, silently pleased that he was forming his first friendship in years; he glances at Bella out of the corner of his eye as they enter the biology lab, appraising her delicate features and outlandish fashion. He wasn't attracted to her – he had his eye on someone else – but he could appreciate her startling beauty and her bold personality.

Unfortunately for Bella, though, Jasper already had a lab partner and the only one left was Edward. With a reluctant sigh, she seats herself beside the boy with unruly burnt sienna hair and bottle green eyes, resentful of her attraction towards him, especially considering what happened to her the day before. There was something to be thankful for though; the semester was half over.

Bella keeps her face forward, eyes intent on the teacher, who was going over material that was old to her – what she really wanted to do was take out her music notebook and finally pen down the lyrics that had suddenly come to her, but it would have to wait until later. She didn't want to draw Edward's attention.

For his part, Edward couldn't keep his eyes off Bella – he was impressed by her guts to do what she wanted. He'd seen the confrontation in the hall earlier and actually had to elbow his best friend, Emmett, in the stomach to shut him up. Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie had later told them that Bella Mercer had been _fearless_, something Rosalie greatly appreciated, given how forceful her own personality could sometimes be. And Mary Alice, who Bella had actually _spoken_ to, was completely enthralled with the new girl. Not to mention, the entire school was buzzing with gossip about Edward's neighbor.

And yet, nobody aside from the mysterious Jasper Cohen had spoken to her – for good reason.

Bella was intimidating.

Edward didn't even think she _knew_ it.

And Jasper certainly didn't seem to mind, not that Jasper seemed to mind anything. From what Edward could tell, he was perfectly content keeping to himself – Jasper was intimidating in his own right.

_It only makes sense that they found each other_, Edward thinks bitterly, forcing his gaze away from Bella's tiny hands. He was too shy to actually act on his feelings – and he was sure his father wouldn't approve. As much as he was loathe to admit it, his father's approval meant a lot to Edward.

He watches as Bella stands when the bell rings, making her way through the classroom towards Jasper.

_Jealousy_. It wasn't an emotion he was familiar with and Edward wasn't sure he liked it.

Bella sighs gratefully when she's out of Edward's ear range; she'd felt his eyes heavy on her person through the entire class and, not only was it distracting, but it was confusing. _Wasn't he in the group that was sneering at me?_

She shakes her head, walking beside Jasper to her next class, which was actually in the back building over the gymnasium – it was a music class, a great source of happiness for Bella.

Upon arriving, Jasper walks her up to the music teacher, a wispy woman with large glasses, dark blue eyes and thick dark blond curls. Jasper smiles easily at the woman. "Hey, Mom."

She smiles back, patting his hand. "Hello, dear," she says turning her eyes to the girl standing beside her son. "Ah, Bella Mercer. I've heard a lot about you already."

Bella's eyes dart from the woman to Jasper, instantly picking out similar features – and instantly missing her own mother. Pushing away her grief, promising to revisit it later, Bella greets Mrs. Cohen.

Jasper steps back, an embarrassed smile crossing his face when his mother asks for Bella's hands, and sits down in the back of the soundproofed room. A bit confused, Bella holds up her palms, blinking when Mrs. Cohen pulls at her fingers, genuinely examining every inch of her hands.

"Ah," she sighs, squeezing Bella's hands. "A true musician. You play guitar, yes?" At Bella's nod, Mrs. Cohen continues. "But you have pianist fingers. You could play that, if you wanted. Are you trained?"

Bella shrugs. "I can play it, but I prefer holding a pick."

Mrs. Cohen nods, offering a soft smile. "We don't have guitar in this classroom."

"Jasper told me."

"We have piano," Mrs. Cohen offers, squinting her eyes when Bella shakes her head uncomfortably. "Do you play anything else, then?"

A faint blush creeps over Bella's cheeks. "I sing a little."

Mrs. Cohen claps, silencing the soft murmurs of the filled classroom. "Marvelous! You'll have to sing, then! Are you soprano?"

Bella purses her lips, keeping her eyes away from her new classmates_. Let them look. Let them hear. This is embarrassing, but I might as well get it over with_.

"I'm not sure. It's been a while since I've sung for anyone."

"How long?"

"Elementary school." Bella declines mentioning that this was the time where her opinions started separating her from her classmates; it was better not to relive that particular isolation.

Mrs. Cohen nods and steps away, sitting down behind the piano. "We'll just do a little test now, then. Go ahead and step up here, back facing the class. Sing the note I play on the piano."

Bella takes her place, automatically correcting her posture – back straight, feet slightly apart – and her breathing.

If Bella had known how many curious eyes were on her, she might have gotten nervous.

If Bella had known that _Edward_, who she was intent on avoiding, was sitting in the classroom, she might not have sung at all.

As it was, Bella didn't know, and she took a deep breath, clearing her mind, focusing on the notes that Mrs. Cohen played, intent on copying them exactly.

Her clear voice rang through the classroom, perfect in tone, her lower register warm like honey and her higher register bell-like. After several minutes of this, Mrs. Cohen sits back from the keys, gazing at Bella with eager eyes. "Wonderful. A true soprano and a rather impressive range," she compliments.

Bella sighs. "Can I sit down now?"

* * *

**A/N: No reviews on this chapter; I'm double posting. You're welcome! **

**Quick note about Jasper and his distance from his peers; clearly, there's a misunderstanding here. Jasper thinks his peers don't like him because his religion makes him different, while Edward clears that up by thinking about how intimidating Jasper is. The same kind of goes for Bella; she thinks people don't like her because of her opinions, when really, they're just intimidated.  
**

**Teenagers, right? What am I talking about - _I'm still a teen!_  
**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

_Hebrews 13:2 "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."_

Edward Abbott

Wednesday night, Edward was reluctant to leave his room. The past two days at school had been agony for him and he was beginning to loathe sitting beside Bella in Biology.

She completely ignored him.

He didn't want her to.

Edward wasn't sure _what_ he wanted her to do, but he did know that being ignored by her – the only girl who had ever captured his attention – was unacceptable. There were only three times a day when he heard her voice; when she spoke to Jasper after Biology, during his music class, talking to Jasper again, and when she got home.

Her obvious closeness to Jasper made Edward uncomfortable – did she like him? But he also couldn't deny the fact that _nobody except Jasper _was willing to give Bella a chance at school; both Tuesday and Wednesday featured Bella marching through the school doors in another uniform-bending outfit that simultaneously inspired Edward and made his heart beat faster.

Edward didn't understand his attraction – not really, at least.

Of course, Bella was beautiful in a terrifying, dangerous way, her face delicately sculpted, so perfect to Edward's eyes that it bordered on unnatural, even with the thick ring of black liner and the small stud in her nose that she apparently refused to remove. But it was the fact her personality was so _opposite_ to Edward's that confused him; she was confident, strong, and seemed to be unforgivably blunt. She seemed to seep strong convictions, seemed to breathe controversy.

Did he like her because she was everything he was not? And, after only four days of _knowing_ about her existence in the world, was he sure that he _liked_ her for her, or was it teenage hormones?

Even as he tried to talk himself out of his innate attraction, Edward had trouble denying it, his heart thudding as he thought of her face and her voice.

_Her voice_.

Edward leans his head into his hands, his elbows on his knees as he sits on the edge of his bed, near the open window, his ears tuned completely to a soft tune coming from his neighbor's home. Ester Mercer had a quaint home with a wrap-around porch that Bella loved to take advantage of; every night, around six, Edward came to the window in his room, opened it up and listened to Bella sing.

Bella's voice was impressive – not only in the range or the tone, but also because Edward could _feel _everything she was singing, from anger to sadness to reluctant acceptance.

And listening made him feel like an intruder.

It didn't escape his notice that she was singing _original_ songs – she was singing through her grief, mourning her parents in an obscure, unique way. And, having listened to Bella fine-tuning notes and re-singing songs, it also didn't escape his notice that she often sang about the Lord.

He could appreciate that.

Through her music, he could feel her worship, her love, her faith.

So, he listened, even through he shouldn't have, even though her mourning wasn't for his ears.

This, listening to her sing and play her well-loved guitar, was the only other time he could be close to her, anyway – and _without Jasper present_.

Edward scowls, fighting away the jealously. What did he have to be jealous about? He had no claim on Bella – he couldn't even summon up the nerves to talk to her, even though he had once before.

That confused him, too.

He _did_ talk to her on Saturday, even unloaded her boxes from Ester's car – so why was it difficult now?

Hearing a particularly bell-like high note, Edward's lips twitch into a smile.

_Of course_, he sighs. _It's because she gets more intimidating as time goes by. I don't know how Jasper does it._

The fact that Bella was so comfortable in her skin intimidating Edward more than anything else; she didn't seem human to him. He acknowledged, silently, that he might have put her on a pedestal – she was this unattainable dream, this far-reaching confidence Edward wished for – because she had nothing to lose or nobody to gain approval from, not like Edward.

He did want his father's approval, he craved it like a drug. Pastor Abbott was Edward's hero growing up and that hadn't faded over time – at least, it hadn't faded until he saw the way his father, a man devoted to sharing the Lord's words, had treated a young girl who dressed differently. It didn't sit right with Edward, especially since he had only ever seen his father treat everyone with good Christian fairness and love.

But Bella was different; his father hadn't been cruel on Sunday, but dismissive, disapproving, all over a simple tattoo. It boggled Edward's mind, the fact that his father had that type of temperament running through his veins. It wasn't that Pastor Abbott was perfect – nobody was – especially considering how his father felt about music as a career, but Edward was questioning his hero for the first time in his life.

It seemed like, with Bella's arrival, Edward's world turned upside down. Just her presence made Edward question everything he thought he knew.

He was too sheltered – wasn't used to people who were different, just like the rest of Hallows Town. People who were different unnerved the town – Jasper, his family, Bella – and he wasn't sure why.

What was _wrong_ with difference?

Frowning, Edward scrubs his eyes, blearily seeking out his digital clock to check the time. He didn't want to leave Bella's voice but he had never missed Youth, and he wasn't about to start now.

Edward stands, slipping his leather wallet into his back pocket, and leave his room. His mother is in the kitchen, cooking the meal she and his father shared every Wednesday when Edward was at Youth – a date night of sorts. She smiles easily at her son, asking if he wants to borrow the car just as a car honks loudly outside.

"Emmett's driving us tonight," he says, wincing at the second honk – his best friend knew nothing of tact, apparently. "But I'll need the car next week. It's my turn."

Elisabeth Abbott grins, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. "I'm glad you kids are carpooling," she tells her son. "It's much better for the environment."

"That's what we thought."

Elisabeth sighs when Emmett honks again. "That boy," she mutters, her eyes lighting up. "Why don't you invite our new neighbor?"

Edward feels heat rising in his face. "Uh-"

"She didn't get such a good welcome at church last Sunday and Tanya tells me it's not too different at school. She could use a friend, Edward."

Sighing, Edward nods, promising his mother that he'll ask as he makes a quick escape; he wasn't sure if he should be glad his Aunt Tanya was paying attention at school or annoyed that the Principle of Hallows Town School couldn't just mind her own business so Edward wouldn't have to find his balls for a few minutes.

Frowning, Edward walks up to Emmett's driver's side window, patting the hood of the cherry red Range Rover as he passes – a gift from Emmett's parents, even though it was a tight financial squeeze for the owners of Hallows Town Diner. When Emmett rolls the window down, Edward leans his head in. "I'm going to invite Bella."

Emmett grins, patting the steering wheel. "Ah, the Mercer girl. Good luck, man."

Edward's face heats up again with Rosalie smiles from the passenger seat. "Do you like her?"

"No," Edward lies, his ears growing hot when Emmett and Rosalie exchange a glance at his too-quick answer. "My mom asked me to." _At least that was the truth_, he thinks ruefully. "I'll be right back."

"Hurry," Emmett yells to Edward's back. "We still have to pick up Mary Alice!"

Edward rolls his eyes and exhales, crossing the wide strip of land that divided his yard from his neighbor's. Bella hadn't moved or stopped playing since Edward left his room and the warm glow of Ester's outdoor lights bathed her skin yellow, causing Edward's heart to beat wildly. He wasn't sure there would ever be a time when Bella's beauty didn't scare him.

He leans against the railing of Ester's porch, his chin on his arms as he stands across from Bella, who was sitting in the swinging bench. She looks up, large blue-grey eyes disarming Edward.

"What?"

Edward shakes his head a little, blinking out his daze, and swallows, trying to bring moisture back to his mouth. When he speaks, it's too quick, too nervous and too embarrassing when one side of Bella's mouth tilts up in an amused smirk. "The church does a Youth Group night every Wednesday and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, I mean, you don't have to or anything and I'm not going to force you, but it is pretty fun and there's live music and games and usually pizza, though sometimes we order wings, and we're just about to start our new Ten Commandments program, which should be pretty cool because Pastor Carlisle is really laid back." Edward forces himself to stop, taking a deep breath. "Uh, anyway, did you want to tag along?"

Bella tilts her head to the side, a chunk of dark hair falling into her eyes. One brow quirks up, the piercing pulling at the skin, as Bella looks down at her ripped up grey jeans and cut-off Army green sweater with _Take It Easy_ written out on the front; she wiggles her feet, drawing Edward's attention to the clunky black boots with a sturdy studded cross on each side. "Am I dressed okay?"

_You're perfect, I don't care how you dress_, he thinks instantly. Realizing that the response could be considered creepy, Edward nods instead, silently urging the heat from his ears. _I like this girl_, he reminds himself. _I want her to like me. I need to keep calm. _"That's fine for Youth," he answers, his voice sounding normal to his own ears as he gestures to the navy t-shirt and jeans he's wearing. "Casual, you know."

Bella sets her guitar to the side and stands, bringing Edward eye level to the sliver of milky skin exposed by her loose top. "Alright. Let's go," she shrugs easily, moving to stick her head through the front door, telling Ester where she's going.

She turns back to Edward with a slight smile that makes his heart stop. "Lead the way."

* * *

*EDIT ON 3/18: it has come to my attention that I made a boo-boo. For those who read the first version of this chapter, there was a name mix-up with Judah/Jasper. To be clear, it's totally the same person. You guys know I write the original characters then go back and replace names - I forgot to fix Jasper. My bad! Thanks for letting me know!*

**A/N: Alright, MAJOR peek into Edward's head. He's a bit conflicted, huh? I don't have much to say about this chapter – it speaks for itself!**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews (plus guests) of the last chapter:**

**Nikki – Hell, I don't even like his dad right now! Lol **

**Twilight Rocker 12 – LOL right! Don't type B&J, it's way too confusing!**

**Twisted Musalih – Maybe Edward will find his guts? Give him time!**

**vampyregirl86 – Totally agree with you; it's everywhere!**

**Debslmac – glad you're loving it ;)**

**Valentine Rain – Ahhh! And I got more out so quickly! Gotta love shorter chapters!**

**Jansails – Uhhh Edward's fault? Lol And Bella will take her inch to get a mile.**

**sujari6 – Gotta love Jasper!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – LOL I passed on your message to Edward; he scowled, blushed and looked away, the darling!**

**BMSCullen – NO BELLA AND JASPER! Lol They're just friends!**

**Super shout out to the first review of the last chapter – ****Flavia Ribeiro – you know, I always thought cannon Jasper and Bella **_**should have been closer friends!**_** They have similar personalities, kind. So now, I'm getting exactly what I want!**

**Alright, I'm off to eat ice cream!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Exodus 20:17 "_You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor's._"

Bella Mercer

When Bella told Edward to lead the way, she didn't necessarily mean she would _follow_; it simply wasn't in Bella's nature to follow anyone, nor was it in her nature to lead. She walked _beside_ Edward, matching his long, striding gait just as easily as she matched Jasper's, allowing him to guide her to the rather nice red Range Rover sitting in his driveway.

As Bella gets closer to the vehicle, she slants a cool glance at the driver – he _really_ liked to honk his horn. The driver's tanned skin and dark curly hair contrasted greatly with the ice blue of his eyes; sitting beside him, a quietly stunning girl with cream hair, ash blond hair and celery shade eyes watched Bella was a calm gaze.

Edward opens the back door of the Range Rover, gesturing for Bella to go ahead of him; she frowns, unmoving for a moment. _Why would he do that? _The gesture wasn't completely foreign to Bella; her father had frequently opened doors for both her and her mother. But Bella wasn't expecting that type of behavior from Edward, who had been confusing Bella with mixed signals since day one – first he helps her, then he judges her, and then at school, he behaves like Bella is going to stab him with a pencil.

She couldn't figure him out – she wasn't even sure _why_ she wanted to figure him out.

She sighs, ducking her head as she slides into her seat; now is not the time to be thinking about this. Looking up from where her gaze had followed Edward as he walked around the vehicle, Bella's eyes catch the driver's.

He winks.

Bella narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"So, how long have you known our Edward?" the driver asks.

The girl sitting beside him snaps her hand out, catching the back of his head with a solid _pop_. "Sorry," she apologizes, rolling her eyes. "He's an idiot. I'm surprised he's survived so far."

"My mother's a saint," the driver declares. "That's how I've survived."

"You should ignore everything he says," the girl tells Bella. "He has no brain to mouth filter."

The driver fakes a wounded look, his eyes theatrically wide, his bottom lip poking out. "Babe, you kill me."

Edward, who had just climbed into the car, closes the door. "Please, Rosalie, put us out of our misery."

"Dude!" the driver exclaims, accidentally hitting the horn, causing the passengers of his car to cringe. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Edward snorts lightly. "You have no side, Emmett. And no shame."

Emmett sighs loudly, obviously not offended. "That, I cannot deny."

Rosalie pats his hand dismissively. "You're okay. Drive."

"Yes, ma'am," he smirks, putting the car into gear.

Beside her, Edward leans over, invading Bella's personal space in such a way that Bella hardly cares; he smells nice, clean, and his eyes up close are startlingly clear. "Sorry about him," he says. It was amusing to Bella that Edward was the second person in thirty seconds to apologize on behalf of the jovial oaf driving the car – she almost smiled. "We think he was dropped on his head as a baby."

"I can hear you," Emmett exclaims from the front. "You know, Emmett, you have a really weird technique for flirting-"

"Oh, here we go," Rosalie mutters, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But that's not the only weird thing about him, Bella Mercer," Emmett says, raising his voice to talk over Edward's protests. "He has this weird toe-"

"I do not!"

"-And a hairy back!"

"You're such a liar!"

"Am not!"

"Can either of you behave your age?" Rosalie demands as the car comes to a stop in front of a house that looked an awful lot like Edward's and Nana's. "It's like being around children! Or babysitting."

"Babe," Emmett says, pressing both hands onto the horn, waiting until the noise dies off before talking again. "You know you love me."

Rosalie's face colors the softest pink. "You're a stalker," she teases. "I have no other choice."

Edward rolls his eyes, leaning his head against the seat as a slightly familiar face jets out of the house, one hand holding a bright pink fedora onto her dark cap of hair. "Sorry, sorry! Emmett, don't you honk again!" she warns, running around the side of the car. "Edward, move over."

Bella watches as Edward unbuckles his seatbelt and moves to the center seat as the short girl pushes him. "I'm moving," he tells her, casting a quick smile to Bella as he situates himself beside her. "This is Mary-Alice," he introduces, his voice droll.

Mary-Alice looks at Bella with large blue eyes, striking against her pale complexion and dark hair. "I love your hair," she says, reaching across Edward to touch the end of Bella's dark locks. "It's so edgy."

"Thanks," Bella murmurs, one brow quirked high.

_These people_, she thinks slowly. _Are all teenagers like this? Jasper isn't._

A part of Bella was delighted by the light-hearted ambivalence they seemed to have – and relieved this was _not_ the teens who judged her on Sunday. A smaller part of Bella was soaring because _Edward_ seemed to spare her an extra second of attention, _Edward_ seemed to be happy she was here and, based off what his jovial friend was hinting at, _Edward_ seemed to like her.

Of course, none of that explained his cold shoulder earlier in the week or his frown on Sunday – but in the depths of Bella's mourning heart, she had a feeling that her tiny affections for Edward were returned. For now, though, she would play her cards close to her heart; no need to get her hopes up.

Emmett drove even faster on the short span of highway that lead up to the monstrosity of the church, with Rosalie chastising his speed and Mary-Alice asking about Bella's nail polish – Edward said nothing, simply enjoyed Bella's body heat against his left arm and thigh, since he wasn't sure when he would ever get to be this close to her again. She seemed to have cooled off towards him, her slight smiles coming easier; he had to keep himself in check, though, since it wouldn't be good if she caught him staring at her.

The church was pulsing with the usual Wednesday night fanfare – the lights inside were low and multi-colored, recorded rock worship music pumping through the speakers, teenagers and younger kids mingling in little groups, snacking on cookies and soda. Edward was tempted to grab Bella's hand and lead her around; instead, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and moved along with the group, signing in and migrating to one of the larger upstairs rooms where his age group got together for Youth.

Bella followed him silently; aware of the scandalized looks directed her way – and wary of Edward's reaction to it. _Maybe he doesn't notice_, she thinks when they enter a large rectangular room littered with scattered chairs formed in a rough circle.

She doesn't have too much time to think about it, though, as a tall man with ash blond hair and relaxed posture calls the room to attention, ordering them to find seats.

_Pastor Carlisle_, she assumes.

"As you all know," the man begins. "Tonight is the start of our Ten Commandments study, where we'll be counting down the commandments and examining what each one means." Pastor Carlisle stops, a sly grin taking over his face. "Maybe you guys will actually learn something this time? My job is at stake here!"

The group laughs, a tranquil energy covering the room. Bella sits beside Edward, a silent observer, watching, listening, learning as Pastor Carlisle starts his short sermon on what the tenth commandment is, what it meant in the past and how it is interpreted today.

"The tenth commandment is about contentment," Pastor Carlisle says, settling himself in a chair backwards, leaning on his folding arms. All eyes are on him, listening eagerly to the gentle tilt of his speech, listening to his open interpretation. "_You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, no his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's_," he recites, pausing as he lets the scripture sink in. His eyes, a light shade of green similar to Rosalie's, pass over Bella, taking note of her presence. "Why is this important? Why shouldn't we have desires? The tenth commandment isn't telling us that our desires are immoral or sinful, but it _does_ tell us that some desires are wrong. It is wrong to desire something that belongs to something else. Out of all the commandments, the tenth commandment is the most straightforward. We should be content with what we have – we should have no need to desire that which is belongs to someone else. In fact," he says wryly, directing his gaze to Emmett. "We should rejoice in the good fortune of others, as this is the direct opposite of coveting. So, Emmett, congratulations on the Range Rover – mind if I take it for a spin?"

The room erupts in laughter, a feeling of fully formed unity – that included Bella – tempering the air.

Pastor Carlisle continues on in his informal sermon, talking for an hour about what it means to covet and how to be content, finishing with a smooth prayer that tames Bella's mind into a calm sea.

Peace.

When the Youth class breaks up, Pastor Carlisle approaches Bella and, since he hadn't left her side, Edward, holding out his hand for the young woman to shake. "I hope you'll come next week," he says pleasantly.

Bella pauses for a moment, eyes flicking to Edward, around the room, back to the young Pastor. "I will."

Resolute. Strong. Sure.

"Brother!" Rosalie says, her voice breaking into the silence as she wraps her arms around Pastor Carlisle's waist. "When can I come by again?"

Bella steps back, admiring the show of familiarity, suddenly wishing she had her own sibling – would she still be in Hallows Town if she had an older brother? She bumps into Edward, her heart slamming against her ribs at his red ears and shy smile.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, real quick – sorry about the name mix up from the last chapter. Judah is Jasper, Jasper is Judah, it's just the way I write and most of the time it works – and I did get it fixed! **

**So, why the ten commandments? I know more about it, I've already done a bunch of research, I'm kind of lazy like that. **

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews for the last chapter –**

**shar76 – I think we'll find out how relaxed Edward's friends are; there seems to be a lot of misconceptions in this town!**

**boo1414 – I'm not sure Bella's personality would embrace someone who isn't as blunt, but for Edward, she might…lol**

**Valentine Rain – Well, at least I can help with the update problem! You're on your own for the ice cream! **

**smiles make the world go round – I'm trying not to make it too religious; it's about the religion, but it's also about more!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – No you're right! He does need to grow some balls!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Ah, yes, our Edward is a bit scared lol that's okay, she's intimidating!**

**well i wish i was a cullen – Sorry for the name confusion, it's all fixed up!**

**ParasiteGoddess – Hopefully, Youth didn't disappoint!**

**Theoddwallflower – I should be able to get another chapter out between today and Monday!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter - CdrIvanova – Yep! Rose and Bella should have a strong relationship in this story!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"_Telling Laila's story spoken, about how all her bones are broken."_

_~ Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

The mourning came suddenly for Bella and it was intense, Earth-shatteringly, mind-numbingly visceral – so much so that she skipped school on Friday, buried under Nana's homemade quilts, listening to acoustic music on a loop as she cried steady, slow tears. Hunger fled her, light hurt her eyes, thirst was not a hindrance. There was only loss and grief and, eventually, acceptance.

When she emerged from her room the next day, foggy, stumbling and more than a little sad, she also came out stronger. Her grief did not kill her, though it felt like it would. Her parents were gone, yes, but in her heart, they never truly left her; she took comfort in the fact that they died together and had happy lives. That was more than anyone could pray for – it was better knowledge than any peace could bring.

Bella made a point to hug Nana especially long, knowing that her sudden withdraw from the rotating world had worried her only living relative.

She failed to realize that others might have worried over her, too.

Jasper had been tempted to visit Friday afternoon, knowing exactly where Ester Mercer lived, along with the rest of Hallows Town; he restrained and, instead, offered a short prayer for Bella, knowing without being told that she had lost something important. It was the only support he knew how to offer.

Edward, however, did not take her absence lightly; he'd expected to see her in another outrageous uniform interpretation at school and he'd been eager to continue his baby steps in befriending her. When she did not show up in Biology or later in Music, Edward's idle concern exploded into panic, especially when he arrived home, winded from running up the stairs, to peer through his window, hoping to hear Bella's lilting voice through her open window. Instead, the only sound that greeted him was the painfully obvious sobs and mourning music from the darkened window; as attached as he was already to the beautiful girl, his own heart ached with the need to soothe her pain.

By the time Sunday rolled around and with it, the bustle to prepare for church, Bella was feeling like herself, holding her parents in her memory; Edward was half-asleep, groggy from staying up half the night quietly writing lyrics.

At the church, the reception of Bella's presence hadn't changed much; she was obstinate, wearing a loose, high-collared, sleeveless muted grey floral shirt that billowed around her slight frame as she moved and atrociously ripped white skinny jeans stuffed into chunky combat boots. With a proud posture and stubborn tilt of her chin, Bella exposed another tattoo, this one a simple scripture of _"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins"_, running across the skin of her arm from her wrist to her shoulder. The tattoo was special to Bella, this time because of her father, who frequently looked upon the misery of the world with a benign shake of his head and a quotation of _1 Peter 4:8_.

The cool grace of Bella's face dared anyone to make a fuss this Sunday – she would not be swayed away from her worship this time.

And, as if they could feel the air of determination wafting from Bella's lithe form, nobody, not even Maxine, dared approach her; Edward simply watched on, standing beside his mother, his posture lax with relief upon seeing the girl he had grown to admire so deeply.

With quiet worship and stoic observation, Bella immersed herself in the worship music and the firm sermon. She found peace among these people who judged her so easily – and forgiveness, even for herself who had judged them in return, in defense. She had never been one to jump to conclusions and life in Hallows Town wasn't going to make her change. She refused to let it.

Peace, though, didn't last.

Bella wasn't sure why she was the first one to notice – was it because she had invested interest in the child's well-being or simply because she had nobody to talk with after the sermon? Nana was huddled with a group of older women, talking about gardening for the spring season, leaving Bella to wait beside the wall of the church as others milled about.

Rosalie approached, dressed in a pale yellow sundress and a grey cardigan, hair shining, a smile ready on her face. "Hi, Bella."

Bella turned her head to greet her back when the echo of a scream whistled through the air, assaulting her sensitive musician ears; her head snapped in the direction of the pained noise, eyes roving the parking lot, coming to rest on the playground where children were running away from a frightening, deeply disturbing scene.

Without allowing herself to think about it, Bella took off, heavy shoes beating against pavement, her voice calling a distinct, crowd-stopping order over her shoulder. "_Call 911_!"

Bella hadn't ever been athletic but her feet moved swiftly, her body easily cutting through the air as she threw herself over the small, crumbled body of a child, just in time to block two heavy fists; she acted as a human shield for Laila, willingly taking the impromptu beating.

She did not cry out when, upon realizing his fists were not hitting his intended target, Laila's father pulled Bella's hair, using it as leverage to gain access to her face, which was met by a hard fist. She did not let the hit faze her, instead throwing herself on top of the girl for a second time, protecting the child with a selflessness that left bystanders shocked.

It was quite the sight – a slip of a girl, the _outcast_, the one who clearly didn't belong, putting herself in harms way while the assailant, a prominent figure in the church, continued his rage, his clothes splattered with an alarming amount of blood that was clearly not his own.

And then, of course, the body that lay behind him – bleeding profusely, bathing the woodchips of the playground in blood, never to take a breath again due to her broken neck.

The members of the church were, for a moment, frozen – unable to process what was happening and what had evidently been happening under their noses for quite some time.

Rosalie, true to form, reacted first, dialing the police and letting out a startled scream for Emmett, who was speaking with Edward – and both teenage boys rushed to her side, where their attention was directed to what was happening to Bella on the playground. Both boys moved quickly, Edward's heart stopping as his feet hit the pavement.

Pastor Abbott, who always had an eye on his son, was quick to follow, Pastor Carlisle hot on his heels while the rest of the congregation rapidly dialed authorities.

"_There's a beating at the church-"_

"_Richard Ames is assaulting a young girl-"_

"_Someone needs to be sent right away-"_

"_I think there's a dead body-"_

"_Please hurry! My friend is hurt!"_

So lost in her sudden quest to protect Laila, Bella set her mind to endure what was happening, knowing in her heart that someone would help eventually. She just had to hold on.

Emmett, being the athlete, arrived first and used his sheer bulk to tackle Richard away from Bella, though as a soccer player, he had never done so a day in his life. Edward and Pastor Carlisle were not far behind, the Pastor moving to restrain Richard while Edward was at Bella's side, tenderly, fearfully brushing her hair away from her already bruising face – Pastor Abbott knelt helplessly beside the broken body of Laila's mother, absently watching his son's gentle behavior towards the other teen.

"Bella?" Edward murmurs, fear grasping his heart with a tight clench; he watches her slow movements, alarmed by how much it seemed to hurt her to move. "Are you okay?"

She lets out a pained gasp, gritting her teeth as she moves her body weight off Laila, who was curled on the woodchips with her arms protecting her face. "I'm fine," Bella replies, not sparing Edward a glance, even though that might have gone a long way in calming his thudding heart. "I'm more worried about her. Laila," she calls softly. "Laila, are you okay? Did he hit you?"

One bright blue eye peeks open, hesitantly, taking in the blue-grey eyes staring back on her; and, like any child, she responded eagerly, moving with speed to wrap her arms around her savior's neck. "Bella!" the girl says loudly, suddenly bursting into tears. "Bella!"

Feeling a sharp tug in her heart, Bella's body instantly moves, a wave of protective feelings washing over her soul. "Shh," she says, carefully wrapping her arms around the little girl. "It's okay now, Laila."

Edward watched and another piece of his heart became Bella's.

The police and an ambulance came to the church only moments later and, for a while, it was chaos; Bella and Laila were being examined by the EMT's while Edward, Emmett, the Pastors and several others were being questioned by the police; Richard Ames was handcuffed, simmering in the back seat of a cruiser; the body of Laila's mother was carefully moved into a body bag.

Bella came out of the situation far from unscathed – the large bruises forming on her back and over her spine were greatly exaggerated due to a blood disorder inherited from her mother's side. She would not heal for a while. Laila, on the other hand, only suffered one jarring hit, which was deflected by the pink cast on her arm. The congregation, as a whole, was quite shaken by the events that had passed. Those who knew Laila's meek mother were immediately counseled, the soul of the late woman prayed for in earnest.

Laila refused to leave Bella's side, instantly attached to either Bella's hand while she was being examined or her little arms wrapped around Bella's leg while the teenager had to talk to the police. When one of the officers tried to take Laila away from Bella, the little girl began to cry and plead loudly – she didn't want to leave Bella. Not ever.

Bella's chin lifted when she heard Laila's crying and one of her hands settled on the girl's copper hair. "My Nana is a foster parent. Laila can stay with us."

The officer shifted uncomfortably – what he was about to do violated protocol but, hearing the child's cry, he couldn't take her away from safety. "She can go home with you now. I'll talk to the police commissioner about this case and Child Services will be in contact."

Bella sighs in relief, sinking into a crouch to hug Laila to her chest, her back aching with every movement.

_Dad said I'm a fixer_, she thinks tiredly._ It seems like he was right._

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was so hard to write, you all have no idea. Now, this is fiction; people don't actually get killed at a church. But I did think long and hard about this and this is what needed to happen – for the plot, for the characters, for the movement of the story. Make of it what you will.**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter:**

**CdrIvanova – Ah, I'm not to good at the slow burn. We'll see how long it lasts!**

**boo1414 – Yep! She's thawing to him!**

**Debslmac – Glad you loved it! :D**

**Theoddwallflower – LOL I loved the family names! I really researched them, got the meanings and how I felt about them; I went through about fifty for the main characters! **

**Aurowanfinn – Carlisle is kind of awesome!**

**manda2784 – Thank you for pointing that out! I think I fixed the judgment thing this chapter!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – My old Youth had pizza nights and a skatepark lol **

**LunaDiSangue85 – Well, she won't bite Edward…harder than he likes it lol**

**vampyregirl86 – Ah, the south. Sometimes people in the south….ehhhhh, you know. I'm from the south so I get it.**

**Super special shout out to the first reviews of the last chapter – Nalia-R – Gosh Edward! Listen to this review! HOLD HER HAND! **

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**

* * *

Side Note: A real quick run down on who is related to who!

Edward Abbott – son of Pastor Abbot, son of Beth Abbott and nephew of Principle Jayne (first name Tanya)

Jasper Cohen – son of Mrs. Cohen, the music teacher.

Rosalie – younger sister of Pastor Carlisle, sister-in-law to Esme.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

"_Inspired in their footsteps, we will march ahead.  
Don't be shocked that people die.  
Be surprised you're still alive."_

_~ Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

Monday morning found Bella skipping school again; instead of sitting through tedious classes, Nana drove Bella and Laila to the county hospital to be checked out again, especially since the bruising on Bella's back was causing more than a little discomfort.

The doctor assigned to Bella was older, near retirement, with large silver glasses over his eyes. He peered down at the chart curiously, his bushy brows peaking high on his forehead. "I see you have a blood disorder," he states, putting the chart down. "You should be more careful. Let's see your back."

Bella grits her teeth at his advising tone and shrugs off the horrible green hospital gown, holding the cloth against her chest, quietly glad that she didn't exactly need to wear a bra if she didn't want to – a bra would be torture against her back at this point. It hurt every time she breathed.

The doctor prods her back for a moment, examining the large bruises that covered almost every inch of Bella's back. The amount of deep bruising was shocking to the doctor, but it made diagnostic sense; the particular blood disorder Bella Mercer had made her especially vulnerable to easy bruising and profuse bleeding from minor cuts. "Have you thought about getting a disorder identification bracelet?"

"A what?"

The doctor pulls back from his probing, adjusting the hospital gown to cover the black and blue bruising. "It would be a little plaque to put on a bracelet that identifies your blood disorder, so if anything were to happen again, the ambulance would know the appropriate measures to take. Are you allergic to anything? I can write that on the script, too."

Bella nods in agreement, quietly mentioning that she's allergic to grapefruit and penicillin as the doctor quickly writes a prescription, instructing her to take it to the hospital pharmacy, where they would send a request to her insurance to fill the order; later on, the plaque would be mailed to her home.

Once the doctor leaves, Bella gets dressed as quickly as possible, pulling an oversized, thick black sweater over her skin along with her most relaxed pair of jeans, both knees ripped up and fraying light blue. Before finding Nana and the little girl that had a habit of clinging to her legs, she drops the prescription off at the hospital pharmacy, trying to be as quick as possible; an aversion to hospitals had grown on Bella, ever since she had to identify her parents not two weeks ago. It was too soon for her to be in the sterile environment.

Laila's appointment, it turns out, was very minor; her pink cast was replaced in favor of a blinding yellow that makes Bella wince when she looks at it. _Maybe I can cover some of that with Sharpie. I've had lyrics in my head since last night, anyway,_ she thinks absently as Laila wraps her little arms around the teenager's leg, the hard shell of the cast pushing into Bella's leg.

Somehow, Laila manages to hold onto Bella's leg as the small group moves to Nana's car – the coordination of the child is beyond Bella's comprehension, especially given that she only seemed to have hand-eye coordination.

After Laila is settled in the car, Nana closes the door and looks at Bella with great intensity. "I see that look in your eye," she tells her granddaughter. "Your father used to get that look all the time. That little girl…" Nana trails off.

Bella lifts her chin. "I know," she says quietly. "I can't deny it. It feels like she's mine already."

"You're just seventeen."

"I know."

Nana gazes at Bella, a sad, soft smile on her face. "So much like your father," she says finally, patting Bella's cheek gently. "A good thing, probably. While you were seeing the doctor, I got a call from a childcare case manager," she announces. "Laila will be under my official care as a foster parent. The manager of Child Protective Services in our county happens to go to my church and she saw what you did for that little girl."

An invisible weight lifts off Bella's shoulder – she hadn't realized how much stress she was carrying around, silently worried that someone would take Laila away from her.

There was something about Laila that tugged at her heartstrings – something about that little girl called to Bella in such a visceral way.

She wanted to protect her, shield her from the world that had already harmed her.

Bella wasn't sure if it was maternal instincts or her notion that no child should be harmed; maybe it was her faith that connected her to the purity in the child's eyes.

She wasn't sure it mattered.

Sliding her hand into her back pocket, Bella pulls out a little black fold wallet, feminine but simple. Holding it up, she redirects her gaze to Nana. "Then we can shop for her."

Excitement lights in Nana's eyes. "You want to shop?"

Bella shifts on her feet. Truly, she hated shopping, even though she was rather girly in other ways – her nails were always well maintained, the polish rarely chipping, and her make up collection was a source of pride. Shopping, on the other hand, was tedious, mostly because Bella's taste in clothing usually wasn't offered by the stores near her; online shopping was her choice, by far, but she also understood that a small child like Laila would enjoy the _touching_ of items.

Bella nods, glancing at the little girl in the car. "For Laila. It would be nice if we could decorate the spare room upstairs for her. And she needs clothes," she adds absently, flipping her wallet open and fingering the gold credit card that had been in her name since she was sixteen. "It's on me."

Nana smiles, moving around the other side of the car. "Alright. Then let's start this shipping spree."

As they were already in New Haven, Nana drove to the nearest outlet mall, one with a rather large store centered on children toys and furniture - Laila's face lit up as soon as they entered the store. She immediately releases Bella's leg and gravitates towards a fairly large stuffed panda, her small hand tentatively petting the soft fur. Large, cerulean blue eyes look up at Bella.

The teenager crouches down next to Laila while Nana moves to get a cart. "You like the panda?"

"Yeah," Laila says quietly, her voice soft with wonder only children can possess.

Bella stands, wrapping her arms around a stuffed animal that is almost as big as she is. "Alright. It's yours."

"Really?"

Bella smiles easily at the sound of Laila's excited voice. "Yeah. Now, let's go find you some other stuff."

Hours later, Nana pulls her car into the driveway of her dark home, Bella reclining carefully against the seat of the passenger door; in the back seat, squished between the giant panda and a series of stuffed bags, Laila sleeps, completely tired out from the day of excitement. Nana's admiration for her granddaughter only grew throughout the afternoon – the way Bella interacted with Laila was remarkable, reminding Ester of how Bella's mother treated her granddaughter when she was Laila's age. Bella dedicated the entire shopping spree to blatantly spoil Laila, not even flinching when her gold card paid for hundreds of dollars worth of clothing, bedding, stuffed animals and books.

And Laila – Nana frowns slightly, remembering how completely amazed Laila was that she could _"have all of these pretty things_". It was so contradictory to what Ester knew about Richard Ames; a wealthy man who donated money to the church, who wore hundred dollar suits to the service. Apparently, his darkness reached far beyond what Nana could ever imagine, given how the child displayed such wonder at having her own bedspread. As Nana shuts off the car, she sends up a silent prayer of thanks that Bella took the initiative to save the little girl before the darkness truly tainted her.

"We're home," Nana says quietly to Bella, her eyes flicking to her neighbor's porch, where a young man was pacing. Ester purses her lips, easily recognizing the beginning stages of courtship between her granddaughter and the son of her Pastor; it would be amusing, to say in the least.

Bella wakes Laila up, completely oblivious to Edward's eyes on her back as he makes a split-second decision to approach the other teenager. By the time Laila is sleepily stumbling up the stairs with Nana by her side, Bella is back outside, leaning into the car to pull out the bags, Edward is stepping behind her, a wave of déjà-vu hitting him; it was just like when he first saw her, except this time, he could almost see how much it hurt Bella to move.

"Hey," he says softly, shyly.

Bella jumps, her head hitting the roof of the car, letting out of curse and turning the full force of her irritated glare on Edward's bottle green eyes. "You have a nasty habit of sneaking up on me."

Edward scratches the back of his neck, wincing. "Sorry. I, uh, I wanted to see how you were. You weren't in Biology."

Bella sighs, pushing hair out of her face and leaning back into the car to extract her purchases. "Hospital," she says, her voice muffled.

Edward bobs his head, even though she can't see.

She turns around, huffing as she grasps the large panda in her arms. Bella quirks a pierced eyebrow at him, blue-grey eyes sharp on his face. "Well, what are you waiting for? If you're going to talk, you have to help. Grab some bags."

Edward smiles widely, reaching for as many bags as possible in an effort to impress her with his strength. "You have a habit of making me do manual labor," he says, following her into the house, hesitating for only a second when she motions for him to follow her up the stairs. He tries to stop his mind from wandering when he passes by the mess that is apparently Bella's room, her guitar resting against the wall and her dark purple bedding mussed.

Bella snorts. "You owe me. This is the second time I've hit my head because of you."

Edward doesn't argue, he simply smiles.

He was sure he'd be willing to do anything just to spend time with her.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry I missed updating last week – midterms. I might not be able to update next weekend either because my mother is having oral surgery on Thursday and it's going to be a huge recovery; if I can get Chapter Eleven finished by Wednesday, I'll update, if not, then you guys get two chapters or more in two weeks. It's really a win/lose situation.**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews (plus guests) of the last chapter:**

**ParasiteGoddess – Last chapter was real important for the story. Thank you for reading it!**

**LunaKaleidoscope – Bella's character **_**is**_** pretty awesome like that. We'll see if the community opens their eyes!**

**Xmusecangelx – Ahhh I'm sorry you cried!**

**CdrIvanova – Our brave, rash Bella! **

**shea1223 – Thank you! **

**celia azul – Thank you for your perspective; and you're totally right. It's not **_**completely**_** improbable for something like that to happen in a church parking lot, given the abuser, of course.**

**Pumpkinmykitty – That's pretty much the overall message of the story! I've been trying to find the words to describe it and there you go, summarizing it all in less than 24 words!**

**Dinotopian – Ah, Bella, our young, idealistic natural leader. What trouble shall she find next?**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – Right! I'd like to think I would have the guts to do what Bella did, but you never know. Obviously, it's in my head since I wrote it, but if the opportunity came up? Eh.**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Nalia-R – oh, do I have **_**plans**_** for Richard! And then I have plans for poor Bella too. This'll come back to haunt her, unfortunately!**

**Anyway, I'm exhausted. Thanks for reading!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it. **

**~cupcakeriot**

Side Note: Blood has been nominated for _Top Ten Favorite Fics Completed in March_. Don't know if voting is still an option but show me some love, yes? It's on the TwiFanFictionRec's website.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

_Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."_

Bella Mercer

Wednesday morning came too soon for Bella – though it was easier for her to move, the deep bruising on her back finally starting to heal, she wanted to relish in her hard-earned slumber. But she had obligations.

Like Laila.

And being a good role model.

And feeding her grumbling stomach.

Bella groans, her hand slapping against the old-fashioned alarm clock on her bedside table; behind her, a tiny body burrows closer, a plush animal shielding Bella's back from Laila's hard head. Her lips twist; the kid _kicked_ in her sleep. Hard.

Downstairs, Bella can hear Nana bustling around the kitchen. Bella wasn't blind – she knew that Nana was reliving the part of her life when she raised her son and the addition of Laila into Ester's home made the mourning of her son easier to handle, especially with his carbon-copy personality under the same roof. Nana genuinely enjoyed playing the role of doting mother and grandmother and Bella was happy to let her; as much as Bella felt maternal instincts towards the little girl who was currently digging her tiny toes into the teenager's calf, she was still seventeen and not at all ready for all the responsibilities of motherhood. Having Nana's wise guidance made Bella's abrupt gut decisions easier to handle.

Carefully, Bella slides out of bed, making an effort not to disrupt Laila's sleep, even though she couldn't understand how the five year old could sleep through Bella's noisy alarm clock. Even though they had gone shopping for Laila's room two days ago, the little girl had trouble falling asleep in the unfamiliar room and had repeatedly sought out Bella's comfort – and Bella understood _why_. That didn't change the fact that Bella had made the decision that tonight Laila _would_ be sleeping in her own bed, even if Bella had to be beside her. Nana had casually mentioned that the little girl needed to adjust quickly to her new life – Bella agreed.

She hurries through her morning routine, fixing her wet hair into a high bun, lining her eyes with familiar dark kohl and slipping on ripped up black tights before shimmying into her skirt, an old Beatles tank top and the school issued white shirt, leaving it unbuttoned. She wakes Laila in the way her own mother woke her, with a humming song and a tug on little toes, and then helps the girl through her new routine.

Bella has trouble suppressing her smile when Laila makes a fuss about the uniform she had to wear; for children as young as Laila, the school issued wide black and white plaid jumper shorts with little suspenders, a white cotton collared shirt and a black blazer. Not wanting to be a hypocrite – because she couldn't protest with what she was wearing – Bella allowed Laila to pick out an alternate shirt, confident that the loophole in the _Student Code of Conduct_ would apply to five year olds.

Leaning against the doorjamb, Bella admires Laila's personal space as the girl cheerfully picks out a bright shirt that made Bella wince. Laila's new room, in short, was every little girl's dream; her bed was a pink, white, and purple design, her giant panda resting beside her pillow, a big book of fairytales sat on the little while iron bench at the foot of her bed and toys scattered the wooden floor. Her closet was brimming with new clothing, much to Bella's satisfaction and the little girl's delight; there was even a Snow White play costume, complete with little black slippers that Bella firmly said could _not_ be worn to school.

By the time Bella and Laila make it downstairs, the teenager's back is smarting her and they only have ten minutes before they need to walk to school. Nana places whole-wheat pancakes in front of Laila, sliding a brown paper bag into the girl's bright pink backpack while Bella tosses a bag of green grapes into her own messenger bag.

Amused, Nana watches Bella simultaneously keep Laila clean of syrup, put on her clunky black boots and eat a folded up pancake and bacon sandwich. Nana was only slightly concerned about how Bella was holding up, between the mourning and her recent injuries and taking on the role of mother for a child that was only twelve years younger than the teenager was, but as she watched this scene, all of her doubts vanished. It seemed that Laila needed Bella as much as Bella needed Laila – there was something very fateful about the entire situation.

Nana supposed God was smiling down on all of them.

"Laila's good to go with the school, right?"

Nana looks up, meeting the blue-grey eyes of her biological granddaughter, and nods with a serene smile. "Yes. I put myself down as the emergency contact and she's signed up for the after school program so she can go home with you."

Bella nods, helping Laila with her backpack and taking the little girl's hand. "Great," she smiles, moving quickly out the door. "We have to go. Love you, Nana," she calls back, Laila waving to Nana as she trots beside the older girl.

Nana stands in the doorway of her home, watching as Bella and Laila disappear in the early morning mist; her eyes cut to the side when the door from the neighboring house slams and Edward races out the front door. She smiles, recognizing the symptoms of someone who woke up late, as Edward rushes by her house.

By the time they are halfway to the school, Edward has caught up to Bella and Laila, huffing and holding a hand to the stitch in his side. He's slightly embarrassed by how out of shape he must appear to be but he won't lie – he's not as athletic as Emmett. He feels his ears heat up when Bella's lips twist into a smirk.

"Running late?"

Edward scratches the back of his neck. "Uh, no. No. Just running."

"Right."

"It's true," he defends weakly, smiling when the copper haired girl at his crush's side giggles. "Good morning," he says to her.

Laila peeks around Bella's side, comforted by the hand in her own. "Hi."

For his part, Edward is instantly enamored by the little girl – he can completely understand why Bella was willing to sacrifice her health to save her. How could anyone deny a face like that, all big blue eyes and sweet rosy blush? Edward grins at Laila, unaware of Bella's eyes tracing the edge of his jaw.

"Are you coming to youth tonight?"

Bella's eyes cut to Laila.

Edward catches it and gently nudges her elbow with his, inwardly celebrating the brief contact. "They have children's programs. Pastor Carlisle's wife, Esme, helps out with the smaller kids every Wednesday."

"Yeah? Will I have a ride?"

Edward smiles widely. "I'm sure there's room."

Bella smiles back, happy to be invited back even if she was still a little wary of Edward's intentions – and motivation. Friendship was _new_ to her, especially since she was so used to being on her own. She got along fine with Jasper because he was the same way, but Edward was another story; he was clearly social, maybe even considered popular, not to mention that his father was the head Pastor of the church the entire town attended.

_But_, she thinks as she watches Edward wink at Laila, _when have I ever conformed to what was expected? Edward hasn't been rude to my face and until that time comes, I don't see why I can't trust him._

She agrees to meet Edward at his house around six, with Laila, just as they come to the school campus, Edward's attention being called in another direction. Bella almost laughs at the looks she's getting, until she notices how uncomfortable Laila is with the attention; squeezing the girl's hand, Bella scowls at her peers, head held high, as she guides Laila to her classroom.

Her expression doesn't relax until Jasper appears beside her on the third floor stairway. "Heard about what happened on Sunday."

Bella rolls her eyes. "Gossip in this town, I swear."

Jasper shrugs. "Are you denying it?"

"It's not in my nature to deny things."

Jasper nods lazily, trailing beside Bella as she approaches her class. "Lunch?" he asks distractedly, his eyes focused on something in the room.

Bella's brow quirks, following his gaze towards the vibrant Mary Alice, who is currently laughing at something a classmate is telling her; Bella's lips twist gleefully as she elbows Jasper in the ribs.

He winces, rubbing the sore spot, directing a scowl towards his bold friend. "What?"

Bella simply looks at him knowingly until a faint blush dusts across his face and his typically calm eyes flash with annoyance. Jasper backs away, adjusting his backpack and making a point not to look in Mary Alice's direction again.

"Don't say anything," he warns, curly blond hair falling over his eyes, which he pushes away promptly.

"I wouldn't think of it," Bella says calmly. "See you at lunch, Jasper."

* * *

**A/N: So, there should be another chapter by this weekend. I think I caught a cold or really bad PMS, either way I feel like shit lol Anyway, Mom's surgery went well and I would make a horrible nurse (no patience)!**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews of the last chapter:**

**FluffyZGiggler – I think you got the overall moral!**

**Guest – Thank you for reading!**

**scrosby66 – glad you're enjoying it!**

**manda2784 – Nana is kind of my dream grandmother lol**

**Jennii Marie – Glad the story makes you smile! It stumped me for a while, this chapter, but it makes me smile too!**

**Libby Blue – Thank you for the well wishes!**

**boo1414 – I think she's getting warmer!**

**Sassy Mami – I have a blood disorder, so I know how much it sucks!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Thank you for the prayers! I love little Laila!**

**Nalia-R – in the grand scheme of blood disorders, the one Bella has is not too severe.**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Flavia Ribeiro – Thank you! I told my mom about all you guys wishing her luck and she was so happy!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

_Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." _

Bella Mercer

"So," Bella begins, reaching for a pistachio. "Mary Alice."

Though she didn't know Jasper very well, she did recognize the excited – and slightly angry – gleam in his eye. Bella had been high handed; inviting Mary Alice to lunch underneath the tree in the courtyard, intent on making Jasper talk to the girl he obviously had a crush on. Mary Alice, being _Mary Alice_, had been eager, agreeing quickly and skipping beside Bella to meet with Jasper. When he'd seen his crush, Jasper's barely twitching expression had been wholly comical – especially when Bella had casually mentioned that she should check on Laila, who's after school program started around the same time as Bella's lunch period, thus leaving Jasper and Mary Alice alone. By the time she returned, Mary Alice was sitting close beside Jasper, chatting his ear off, and he didn't seem to mind.

Overall, Bella was pleased with the results.

Mary Alice stops talking, turning her attention to Bella. "Yes?"

Bella tilts her head to the side. "What instrument do you play?"

Mary Alice laughs outright, shaking her head. "I'm horrible at everything. I'm only in that class because Rosalie wanted to hang out with Emmett and Edward and because I had an empty elective course."

Bella nods, blinking, shooting a look at Jasper. "Just to hang out? Don't you get bored?"

Unlike Jasper, Mary Alice has a bold disposition; she doesn't flinch or blush when her gaze meets Jasper's for a long moment, her answer clear. "No," she says easily, her smile coy. "I don't get bored."

Jasper shifts, clearing his throat.

Bella smirks – Mary Alice was a smart girl. Even if Jasper was holding back for _some_ unknown reason, Mary Alice had the type of personality to go after what she wanted. Bella considered that a good thing, because if things went at Jasper's pace, they would be twenty before their first kiss.

"Are you coming to youth tonight?"

Bella nods. "Edward invited me."

Mary Alice claps, smiling with unrestrained enthusiasm. "Awesome! I was hoping he would but he can be so _shy_ at times! I just don't understand how people don't go for what they want," she says, casting another flirtatious glance to Jasper, who compulsively reaches for a handful of pistachios to stuff into his mouth.

Mary Alice giggles, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Bella leans back on her hands, enjoying Jasper's slight embarrassment too much.

Mary Alice is still glued to Jasper's side when music class begins; instead of sitting near Rosalie, she decides to take the only seat available in the back, right beside Jasper. Bella opts for one of the standing pianos in the front, unaware of Edward's eyes caressing her face as she lays out the melody of the new song she just wrote. Her overly-stuffed, coffee-stained journal sits on the piano before her, lyrics on one page and a nearly blank set of music lines on the other; her fingers aren't cautious as she tries out different notes. Instead of cringing at the notes that don't go with the lyrics of her song, Bella moves on quickly – Mrs. Cohen, who is "supervising", almost can't follow Bella's method, until it becomes clear that the teenager has an _idea_ of what she wants to hear.

For Bella, it would have been easier on her guitar – but the piano would do. By the time the class is over, she is confident with the completed melody of the entire song, much to the delight of her teacher; her classmates were more intimidated.

Bella didn't notice or particularly care.

Mrs. Cohen catches her before she leaves the classroom. "You know, you could always stay after to keep working on your music," she offers.

Bella hitches her bag on her shoulder, stuffing her music journal into the bag, a little anxious to pick Laila up. "Really?"

"Jasper does all the time. I make mun cookies for Fridays."

Bella smiles slightly at her teacher, understanding what the offer really means – she can work on her music without prying eyes because Mrs. Cohen wouldn't even be in the room. "I might take you up on that."

Mrs. Cohen winks. "Be sure that you do. I would hate for all that talent to be confined to an hour a day with a piano."

Edward, having stayed behind to walk Bella home – even though she didn't know it yet – heard the conversation from the hallway, and smiles, glad that someone is brave enough to recognize her talent and nurture it. When Bella sees him waiting for her, her eyes light up just enough that Edward feels completely satisfied – she's happy to see him and for now, that was enough.

Laila is full of energy, latching onto Bella when the teenager drops by the cafeteria, where the afterschool program was held after the high school lunch.

The little girl also greets Edward eagerly, grasping his hand and demanding to know about his day; by the time they are halfway home, Laila has fallen halfway in love with the teenage boy, much to Bella's amusement.

Later on, after feeding Laila a small snack and dressing her in casual clothes, Bella and Laila walk to Edward's house after six – he is standing near his parent's second car, arms crossed, and a shy smile on his face. He hoped his expression wouldn't betray his excitement; _Bella_ is going to Youth with _him_. His mind equated it to a date, even though he knew it wasn't – was it?

He swallows harshly when Bella offers him a wave and opens both the passenger and the backseat for the girls.

_Just stay cool. She's just a girl_.

At the church, Edward helps Bella find Laila's group and stays with her as Laila gets reacquainted with a few of the children she knows; he notices that Bella is a little bit reluctant to leave Laila in unfamiliar territory, an observation that warms his heart.

Since he'd heard her playing that melody earlier on the piano, Edward's heart hadn't stopped pounding for the teenager – if he wasn't already in love, he was sure that watching Bella with Laila would seal the deal.

Bella doesn't hesitate to sit next to Edward and Mary Alice in the large room, chairs again arranged in a loose circle. Though she was slow to warm up to people and her own assumptions about Edward were tumbling at a lazy pace, she _did_ have trust in him – and Mary Alice, for that matter. She wondered if they considered her friends and allowed herself to hope that they did.

She shifts in her chair when Pastor Carlisle comes into the room, her back beginning to smart her after a full day of sitting against healing bruising.

"Truth is important to God," Pastor Carlisle begins, sitting back in his own chair, arms folded on his stomach. "In _Psalms 100:5, _the Bible teaches how important truth is to God. _'His truth endureth to all generations_'. The ninth commandment, _'Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor_', is all about truth."

He continues on, standing a few times to pace the diameter of the circle, answering questions and raising valid points about what it means to be truthful and what is considered truth.

Bella absorbs the short sermon with relish; Edward simply enjoys the heat of Bella's knee against his.

"Humans, by nature are deceitful, but we can all relate to Paul, who needed help to rise above the weakness of human nature. God knows how to combat that nature and so he encourages us to be truthful through the ninth commandment. Do you lie? Maybe I can be nicer about that question," Carlisle laughs. "How important is being truthful to you? Or is lying repugnant to you? The temptation to lie will always be there, to save your skin or to avoid trouble. Lying is part of human weakness. But we can overcome that temptation through courage and discipline. We must remember that everything in the Christian way of life is anchored on truth and by remembering this, we can better help ourselves stay truthful."

After Pastor Carlisle finishes, Edward has the wild idea that maybe he should tell Bella that he can hear her singing at night – but was it considered lying if it was by omission. He didn't want to scare her away but he also wanted to be a good Christian, someone his parents could be proud of.

Since Bella's arrival into his life, Edward found himself struggling more and more with that concept – he was coming to realize that his parents, more specifically _his father's_, idea of who Edward should be was mattering less and less. Edward wanted to be someone who could stand by Bella's side; he didn't want to be held down to the strict constraint's of his father's ideals.

If Bella could be her own person, why couldn't Edward?

* * *

**A/N: WhoopWhoop – I did it, two stories updated in one weekend! Yay me! I do have finals this week so we'll see how many chapters I have to update next weekend…**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews of the last chapter –**

**ParasiteGoddess – Glad you like their relationship, the pseudo-mother-daughter thing they have!**

**Sparklymagpie – Me and your hubby both! And I guess cannon-Bella since she couldn't handle the blood either! Lol**

**Libby Blue – Her charge? Lol Yeah, I guess Laila is her charge!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – Always love your reviews darling!**

**james3142 – Good question – Bella may or may not know who saved her a few chapters ago, but Emmett was there too and so was Pastor Abbott. I'll let you decide if you want her to remember! Lol I love this Bella too – so strong, so maternal!**

**Sassy Mami – I don't remember my Nana so this is like my fantasy Nana lol**

**vampyregirl86 – Right? We **_**never**_** see Jasper with a crush sooo….yay! ;)**

**jansails – Yes, Edward the Escort. So dreamy!**

**Twinicole – Edward's father, Pastor Abbott, is going to be a headache more than anything else.**

**Superspecial shout out to the first review of the last chapter – LunaDiSangue85 – Nah, nothing's going to happen to betray the trust building between Bella and Edward. No skanky-hos in this fiction!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

** Chapter Thirteen**

"_Set apart this dream, set apart this dream for me."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

Bella woke up to rather loud snoring in her ear on Saturday morning; squinting one eye open, she is only mildly alarmed to discover that sweet little _Laila_ was producing sounds that were reminiscent of a chainsaw. Bella's brain, just waking up, couldn't comprehend the contrast between the angel and the demonic noises coming from said angel's mouth. She rolls over, clutching a pillow to the side of her head and _tries_ to fall back asleep, failing when Laila makes a particularly loud noise.

Bella sighs, sitting up carefully in Laila's comfortable pink and purple bed, where she slept last night after Laila asked her to – apparently, the nightlight, giant panda and Bella's presence kept the nightmares away. A tender feeling sweeps through the teenager as she realizes she doesn't care about how much sleep she's losing, so long as Laila heals from these fresh mental wounds.

Still, Bella is tired and since she won't be going back to sleep, she needs coffee and a lot of it. Today would be busy, too, with Jasper coming over later with his acoustic bass guitar – Bella hoped playing with him would work about because she'd been observant and had an idea.

Pushing those thoughts away, because it was too soon to think about anyway, Bella takes a lingering shower, taking the time to braid her hair afterwards; the weather would be warm and she didn't want her hair sticking to her neck. Late spring in Connecticut got very humid very quickly.

She puts on a pair of low-riding dark denim shorts paired with an oversized t-shirt reading _Music is Freedom_ in scrawling letters. Happily going barefoot, and showing off the pedicure Laila gave her last night – sloppy, uneven and bright pink – she gently wakes Laila up, letting the little girl pick out a clashing outfit of neon green shorts and an orange care-bear shirt.

Nana is already awake and gardening, a set of muffins left out on the counter in the kitchen. After eating, Bella looks at the time on her cell phone, deciding she and Laila have enough time to bake cookies – which is the only thing Bella isn't completely hopeless at making in the kitchen.

Setting Laila up on the counter, Bella moves around the kitchen, Nana's little radio blaring out Oldies tunes.

"Help me crack these eggs," she says, pausing from singing a Supreme's song. Laila's fingers are clumsy at first, but with Bella's help, the cookie dough remains egg-shell-free.

By the time the clumps of cookie dough are set on the baking sheet and in the over, both Bella and Laila have steaks of flour on their faces; neither bother to wash them off and Nana doesn't clue them in when the girls bring her a sample of their hard work.

They stay outside, absorbing the warm sun, with Bella sitting on the top step of the porch and Laila between her legs, leaning on one of Bella's knees while the teenager uses a sharpie to write out song lyrics on the bright cast. _Close your eyes little girl, you're a princess now, you own this world, twirling in your twirly dress, you're the loveliest far above the rest._

Jasper is punctual, which Bella finds only mildly annoying because he doesn't even seem to be rushed in the slightest, unlike _her_, who feels a bit frazzled after running late just a minute. For a moment, she considers how different he looks outside of the uniform; curly blond hair stuck under a hipster brown-knit beanie, a vintage band t-shirt, relaxed dark green and grey plaid cargo shorts and leather flip flops.

Laila giggles at the sight of so many free toes, especially Jasper's, because his are "super plain", according to the young girl.

Bella smirks at Jasper's expression – he almost seems offended.

Jasper takes it in stride, sitting on the lowest porch step with his pristine leather guitar case resting beside him. "Would you like to paint them?" he offers.

Laila's eyes widen. "Oh, yes!"

Jasper smiles lazily, kicking off his shoes. "What color?"

Laila looks up at Bella, as if asking if this is _really_ happening. Bella shrugs. "I have this great sparkly blue that would look _fabulous_…"

The little girl jumps up and runs upstairs, going straight to Bella's extensive nail polish collection. Last night, when Bella had shown all the bottles to her, she'd been amazed at how many there were – it was Laila's sole mission in life to use every color. Yesterday she used pink and today she would use blue. Maybe Bella would let her use that pretty orange color next…

Meanwhile, downstairs, Bella is holding in her laughter. "You can't get out of it now."

Jasper sighs, faint lazy smile still on his face. "Wouldn't dream of it. I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality that I can let her use me as a doll. Mary Alice might not like it though."

Bella snorts. "From what I can tell, Mary Alice will find it hilarious. How's that going, by the way?"

Jasper scratches his head through his beanie. "You know she actually pulled me aside yesterday after school and _told_ me I was her boyfriend? Didn't even let me ask, didn't let me get a word in, actually. Just said I was and kissed me. And then she turned around and left me standing in the hall," he tells his best friend, his tone slightly amazed.

Bella nods sagely. "Sounds like something she would do."

Jasper shakes his head. "She scares me a little but I like it," he says slyly. "Anyway, weren't we supposed to play music? I didn't just come over here for a manicure."

"Pedicure," Bella corrects absently, reaching for her music journal and flipping to the song she wanted – the very song she just finished writing on Laila's cast and the same song she finished on Wednesday.

Jasper furrows his brows. "There's more than one word for it?"

Bella hands him the notebook, flipped to the page that showed all the parts of music she wrote; the beat was a little flat in her mind and she was hoping Jasper could help her with it. "No, genius. A manicure is for the hands, a pedicure is for the _feet_."

Jasper squints a little, shaking his head, before looking down at the messy journal Bella just gave him. "Girls are so complicated," he mutters.

Bella doesn't get a chance to respond because Laila comes bouncing back with the sparkly blue nail polish. She wastes no time in attacking poor Jasper's toes with the brush; by the time Jasper has memorized the notes he's supposed to play, his toe nails are drying and Laila is grinning happily.

For the better part of the hour, Bella and Jasper spend time synchronizing their playing, the strums of guitar strings filling the air. During this time, Emmett's Range Rover jerks to a halt outside of Edward's house.

Edward had been watching from his window as Bella and Jasper played together, something _he_ wanted to do, something he _should_ do. They were clearly playing something she wrote because Edward could detect the familiar melody. When he sees Emmett arrive, he rushes downstairs, almost tripping on the last step.

"Shh!" Edward says before Emmett can open his loud, obnoxious mouth and interrupt Bella's music. "Shh, just listen!"

They do, Emmett's face lighting up in recognition, a knowing smirk crossing his face – _Edward_ had a crush, apparently.

That was good. He needed to get out more anyway.

Edward and Emmett look up when the sound of guitars stop, watching as Jasper and Bella stand up and move towards the shed in the back of Ester's yard; a few moments later, Jasper comes towards the front of the house lugging various gardening tools with Bella behind him, dragging a sturdy rope behind her.

And then, much to Edward's pleasant shock, Bella drops the rope at the foot of a large tree in Ester's yard, and jogs towards Edward's house. He struggles with keeping his eyes off her legs and the exposed skin of her collarbone.

Stopping in front of the boys, Bella smiles easily, a determined glint in her eye. "I'd like to buy your spare tire," she tells Emmett.

Emmett doesn't answer for a moment, his brows furrowing. "You…what?"

"Your spare," she says again, gesturing to the wheel suspended underneath Emmett's Range Rover. "I want to buy it for a tire swing."

Emmett scratches his head. "A tire swing," he repeats. "Isn't it a little big?"

Bella shakes her head, leaning her weight on one leg. "Not at all. It's just a donut spare, right? It's perfect for what I have in mind. So, how much? Fifty? A hundred? Jasper offered to haggle for me."

Edward laughs at Emmett's bewildered expression; whatever he thought Bella was coming over here for was obviously incorrect. "Give him a second, his brain is melting."

Emmett shoves Edward halfheartedly. "Shut up. My brain is like metal. Metal doesn't melt."

"Actually-"

Emmett ignores Edward. "I guess a hundred would be okay. It's just the cheap spare."

Bella nods. "Alright. Help me set it up and I'll throw in an extra twenty."

Emmett and Edward agree, removing the spare from underneath the Range Rover while Bella yells towards her house, "_I told you I don't need help to haggle, Jasper!_"

Edward snorts at Jasper's reply: "_You probably paid to much because of your arrogance!"_

And then Laila's innocent question: "_What's arrogance?"_

With Edward's help, Emmett rolls the tire to the base of the tree and all four teenagers stand around the rubber object, staring between the tire and the rope.

Finally, after a long moment, Jasper breaks the silence. "I thought you said you knew how to do this."

Bella sighs, wrinkling her nose, which Edward finds adorable. "In theory."

"What if we put the rope through that and then-"

"No, the rope should be on the tree first-"

"Then we should throw it-"

"_Throw_ it? We're not on _Game of Thrones!"_

"Wait!" Edward says, pulling out his cell phone. "Wait. I'll just Google it."

Edward decides, after Laila is finally using the tire swing, that Bella's smile was worth all the bickering and Emmett's questionable comments.

He wonders what else her smile is worth.

* * *

**A/N: UPDATE ONE OF TWO.**

**Well lovelies, I'm back – finals went **_**great**_**, my GPA is kicking ass and I've just started the technical "sophomore" year 6 months after my very first college class. Worry not, all this means is that I'm really tired and really busy – I should only miss updates on mid-terms and finals weeks!**

**Shout out to the first ten reviews of the last chapter:**

**CdrIvanova – Edward is a very dynamic character in this story! I usually make him more static, but I like this dynamic too!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – Shy boys are the best ;)**

**LunaDiSangue85 – That's right! Edward is growing his balls!**

**Debslmac - **

**Dinotopian – Thank you!**

**Valentine Rain – Superauthor! Do I get a costume? Lol**

**ParasiteGoddess – I think Edward has a plan!**

**Cessperez – Bella, matchmaker! Lol we don't see that one too often!**

**Sassy Mami – Jasper is pretty cute, huh? If I wasn't so in love with cannon pairings, I would make Jasper get with Bella….*le sigh* I'll just have to make a Jaspery Edward one day….**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter, Cutebluepandas – Love your name! Love that you love the story!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Romans 8:35 "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"_

Bella Mercer

"A band," Jasper repeats – his tone isn't flat or excited, but Bella can hear the curiosity behind it.

She looks away, carefully watching Laila on her new tire swing Saturday evening; the little girl had yet to abandon the contraption and Bella couldn't have been more pleased. "I don't see why not," she finally replies. "_Set Apart_ was finished today with your help. Technically, we're already a band."

"_Technically,_ we're song writers. Bands have more than two people. Bands have drummers."

Bella shrugs. "Can't be too hard to find a drummer."

"In this town?"

Bella rolls her eyes and glances at Jasper. "What is anything worth without a little bit of a challenge? Music is supposed to be fought for, it's supposed to have passion and feeling. I'm willing to fight for that. I _want_ to. You have the talent, Jasper. Are you willing to fight for something that you want?"

Jasper pulls off his beanie, hands pushing through his thick curly hair. "It can't be that easy. _Nothing_ is that easy. My people suffered way too much for anything to be _easy_ now," he says with a groan.

"Why can't things be that easy? I want to start a band, I want to play in the Battle of the Bands that I saw online the other day and I want you to be in it. I know that we need a few more people, but I can almost _taste_ the band already, you know? John had to find Paul to write the lyrics – guess what, Jasper? I'm Paul already, I just need to find my Johns."

"Your analogies are so confusing."

Bella levels him with a hard stare – her blue-grey eyes have the affect of seeing _through_ the soul and it makes Jasper feel too honest. Bella is a force to be reckoned with. "What's holding you back?"

"Nothing," he says resolutely. "Nothing is holding me back. It's just my head. You are right about music needing to be fought for…but who else is going to join our fight? It can't just be me and you. We need a drummer, a lead guitarist and from what I've seen in your journal, someone who can play classic and modern piano styles. That's a tall order," he tells her, fixing his beanie over his head again. "Not to mention, we'll need a manager of some sort."

Bella leans back on her hands, her ankles crossed in front of her. "You make it sound so complicated. We need, what, four people? I'm sure it will work out."

Jasper sighs. "You sound so confident."

"I have no reason to _not_ be confident, do I? I know how good I am, I know how good you are. And I _have_ been paying attention to a handful of our classmates – a lot of them are talented enough to be a perfect fit."

"Who did you have in mind?" Jasper asks curiously.

Bella tilts her head to the side. "Emmett on drums."

"Emmett?" Jasper asks, recalling the jovial face of the _mountain_ that helped them set up the tire swing.

Bella looks at Laila again, smiling at the joy on the child's face. "Of course. Have you heard him in class? He absolutely _kills_ in the focus rooms on the snare drum – I'm sure if he was given a whole set, he would blow my mind. And his girlfriend, Rosalie? She's our manager. Has balls of steel."

Jasper scrubs his face with his hands, trying to imagine being in a band with Emmett – the picture is oddly logical.

"Who else? Piano? Guitar?"

Bella purses her lips. "Tough to say on those. The person I have in mind for piano is too stiff and I'm not sure if the last person even plays guitar – at least, _I_ haven't heard it myself."

Jasper smiles slightly. "And you're not going to tell me who those people are?"

"Nope," his best friend replies. "Not yet, at least. But we need to talk to you mom about using the music room after school."

Jasper stands, nodding. "Speaking of her, I need to get home for dinner. It's potato latkes night. I'll talk to her after dishes," he tells Bella, smirking rather suddenly. "She _always_ caves when I do the dishes."

"Devious man."

"Nope. Cunning. See you Monday?"

Bella nods, offering him a lazy wave. His car rumbles as he speeds away and Laila enthusiastically waves him off, turning to run into Bella's arms. Small arms wrap around Bella's neck, Laila leaning her little forehead against the teenager's shoulder. "Tired," she yawns.

Bella pats her back. "How about some dinner first?"

Sunday passes slowly, even with church, which seems so dull in comparison to the youth nights; Bella would consider skipping Sunday's if Laila didn't like her class so much.

She was comfortable making sacrifices for the girl.

On Monday, Bella feels particularly excited for her music class and honors the feeling by dawning fishnet stockings, her cross-studded boots and a Pink Floyd tank-top underneath her black vest; she even goes so far as to throw her hair up in a high ponytail and wear a single black feather earring next to her simple studs. Laila emulates her role model in her own way, eagerly wearing a neon yellow t-shirt beneath her jumper.

"You really like bright colors, huh?" Bella asks wryly as they wait for Edward on the edge of the cul-de-sac, her fingers pinching the fabric between her fingers.

Laila grins, tilting her head back to look at Bella. "Yep."

"They don't hurt your eyes?"

"Nope!"

Bella smiles softly, fingers combing through a riot of copper curls. "Goof."

"You're a goof," Edward injects quickly, hands in his pockets, hair still wet from a morning shower. His face is even pink from the heat, which does funny things to Bella's pulse.

She promptly ignores her racing heart.

Instead, she narrows her gaze mockingly. "_You're_ a goof. Let's go."

If Bella let her eagerness show, she would have been bouncing on her way to music class with Jasper, Edward and Mary Alice trailing behind her; though none of them had known her long, they did recognize the excited skip in her step and each exchanged wondering glances.

For a painful moment, Edward wonders if her jovial attitude might have something to do with someone she might be seeing in her next class. He desperately doesn't want that to be true because, since Saturday, he'd come up with a plan.

He had to have time – just a little more.

Jasper lounges lazily beside an alert Bella, his ear pressed against his shoulder, his arm around the back of Mary Alice's chair as his new girlfriend chatters with Rosalie. His best friend's eyes are riveted on the lone piano player in the room, Eric – he can almost see the gears turning in her head.

Edward notices this too and struggles to keep the frown off his face – _she has never looked at me like that_.

He almost grins when Bella huffs in frustration.

"He's not right," she says, looking briefly at Jasper, her hand gesturing sharply in Eric's direction. "Too stiff, too classical. See how much he analyzes every note? He'd throw off the whole melody of a song doing that, Jasper."

Jasper shrugs. "So, not him."

"No."

"_Who_ then?"

Bella slumps in her seat, arms crossed over her chest, head lolling backwards so she can stare at the ceiling. "It'll come to me," she mutters.

Jasper takes his statement as fact.

Mary Alice misses the entire exchange.

Edward scratches the back of his neck in confusion. He didn't follow that conversation at all, aside from the fact that Eric was _not_ who Bella was looking for.

Up at the front of the room, Mrs. Cohen stops what she's working on when a tall student steps through the doorway, slip of paper in his outstretched hand.

"I'm transferring to this hour, Mrs. Cohen."

"Marvelous," she says, clapping her hands.

The student grins. "Mind if I take that piano?" he asks, nodding his head towards the last unoccupied standing piano in the room.

"Go ahead, Jacob," Mrs. Cohen smiles, nearly pushing him towards the piano bench. A thought quickly enters her mind and she grabs onto it. "Why don't you play something lively?" she suggests, her eyes peeking towards her son and his friend, Bella, who appeared very frustrated.

Mrs. Cohen had already granted Jasper permission to use this room after school, along with the equipment, as long as he cleaned up afterwards. She found it fascinating that Bella wanted to start a band, wanted to see where it would go, what would happen.

She'd already decided to support that endeavor in whatever way she could.

Jacob sits down and cracks his knuckles, rolling his neck.

Bella's head snaps up when the melody of _Bennie and the Jets_ strains through the room, easily overpowering Eric's bland rendition of Mozart.

Her eyes lock onto a boy with deeply tanned skin and close-cropped jet black hair, his posture relaxed, the sleeves of his school-issued shirt rolled up.

"Perfect," she says suddenly, much to the amusement of Jasper and the absolute dread of Edward.

They both watch as the bee-lines in Jacob's direction with a determined gait.

* * *

**A/N: UPDATE TWO OF TWO!**

**I'm continuing to reply to reviews from Chapter Twelve here, because the new FF reply thing takes way too long!**

**james3142 – Mary Alice knows what she wants ;) I love the meddling Bella, we really never see it!**

**luvstwilight4ever – Thanks for reading!**

**Twisted Musalih – Glad you liked it!**

**TritonsPrincess – Welcome! I'm glad you like my work! I'm thrilled you love this story!**

**Wheels2 – Bella is courage!**

**Jansails – Good question! I see Alice's parents as being kind of like Bella's late parents – kind of modern Christians. They won't have a problem with the relationship!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – Love and Hugs back!**

**Alright, I have stuff on the stove so I'm posting this then stuffing my face!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Exodus 20:15 "You shall not steal."_

Bella Mercer

Jacob insisted that Bella call him _Jake_, his tone friendly, his face open, his eyes underlined with a subtle vulnerability that called to her. In return, Bella demanded Jake meet with her and Jasper after school on Friday; she left absolutely no room for him to wiggle out of it.

Needless to say, as Bella had maintained her natural mysterious air, the brief meeting with the dark-haired girl had left Jake incredibly curious. She'd only made one passing comment as she was walking away, stating that she hoped he could play more modern piano.

Jake was at a loss but determined to meet her in the music room on Friday.

Bella was incredibly self-satisfied, shooting a triumphant grin towards Jasper as she sat down again – she completely missed Edward's brooding expression.

Like the previous Wednesday, Bella and Laila managed to carpool to the church's youth night. Also like the previous Wednesday, Edward seemed reluctant to let Bella off on her own – he was adamant about dropping Laila off and picking her up afterwards.

Because of this consistent behavior, Bella appraised Edward's attractive face with renewed eyes, lingering on she sharpness of his coke-bottle green gaze.

Her heart beat fast for a moment as she sat down beside him in Pastor Carlisle's circle – _did he like her, romantically_?

Bella was naïve in this situation; dealing with crushes or infatuations was completely foreign to her, as her outlandish opinions had isolated her rather efficiently in the past. No boy had ever paid her express attention for more than a little while, not without being scared off.

Edward, it seemed, was different.

Still, her mind flashed to her first Sunday at this church, when Edward and his disapproving gaze had bore through her. Maybe she was mistaken? Maybe he was disapproving of _Maxine_, not Bella.

It was something, among other things, to think about.

While the rest of the youth group situated themselves, Bella thought about Edward's interactions with Laila, which was very important to the teenage girl, especially considering that Laila was becoming a daughter to Bella. To her immense satisfaction, Edward's behavior towards the young girl was familiar; he interacted with Laila in a relaxed, protective way, much like Bella's own father had interacted with her.

It may have been a bit too soon to be considering things like this, things like Edward being a surrogate father to Laila, like Bella was becoming a surrogate mother to the girl, but it was _important_. Bella knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that as soon as she had established herself through education and a career, her next step would be adopting Laila. Any romantic relationships Bella potentially started had to factor into that plan flawlessly, as she would accept nothing less.

If Edward did like her, he'd already surpassed a huge requirement.

Now, as it was, the issue came down to the question of if _Bella_ liked _Edward_.

She knew she liked him just fine as a friend.

She knew she trusted him.

And, of course, she found him attractive – how could she not? If Bella had a dream crush, Edward would be the epitome of all her desires.

She knew _all_ of that.

But did that necessarily mean she liked him?

Maybe she was thinking about all of this too literally – maybe she should let her gut lead her, just like she let her gut lead her with Laila and Jasper.

And maybe, the youth night at church was not the appropriate time to think about this.

Bella shakes her head, kicking those intensely distracting thoughts from her mind.

Beside her, Edward darts his steady gaze away, not wanting to be caught admiring the contrast between her grey eyes and the dark ring of kohl surrounding them. To him, it seemed he never got enough time to look at her or to be around her; he was constantly craving more.

Pastor Carlisle also looks away from the two youths, recognizing the very first tendrils of affection beginning around Bella and Edward. He thinks very briefly about what Pastor Abbott, Edward's father, might think about a relationship between his son and the outspoken girl and prayed, very quickly, that the teens would have the time to develop their relationship before the Head Pastor found out. Pastor Carlisle wasn't blind; he knew about the expectations on Edward's shoulders and he knew of the slight prejudices Pastor Abbott had about girls who expressed themselves as freely as Bella did.

Pastor Carlisle forces a smile and sits down, calling the attention of the room. _God, I pray for their health and happiness._

"The eight commandment is one of the simplest commandments on the entire chiseled stone," Pastor Carlisle says with good nature. "_You shall not steal_. It's pretty straight forward. Don't take things that don't belong to you. If we think about this commandment literally, this might mean don't rob a bank, don't break into someone's home, don't steal food…But what about if we think about if from a different perspective? What if we thought about this commandment in a non-literal sense? Do you consider it stealing if you are paid to do work but you slack off? God does. Do you consider it stealing if you _borrow_ the answers to your Calculus homework? God does. Stealing is taking credit for something that isn't yours, taking something that isn't yours and even wasting time that doesn't belong to you. God wants us to be honest in every sense of the word," he says.

The remainder of the lecture was spent on discussing what qualified as stealing in the eyes of God and looking at scripture from Paul.

As a closing statement, Pastor Carlisle stands, grinning at the group. "So, if we're not supposed to steal, what can we do? The opposite of taking is giving. Charity, giving time, volunteering – these are all ways we can give," he winks at the group. "Before you leave, take a look at the pamphlets on the table, you know, by the cookies. Think about doing some of that volunteer work. Now, get out of here."

Most of the youth group, including Edward, moves to the side of the room to look at the pamphlets but Bella hangs back, standing with purpose and approaching Pastor Carlisle.

Knowing that Pastor Carlisle was closer in age to her – and that Rosalie was his little sister – Bella had been able to pluck up the courage to talk to him about her plans. Standing to his side, she clears her throat.

If the Pastor is surprised, he doesn't show it. Instead he smiles gently. "Yes, Bella?"

Bella holds her shoulders back, chin high. "I wanted to talk to you about something…and I have a question I was hoping you'd be able to answer."

Pastor Carlisle turns to face her fully, his full attention on the teen before him.

Bella exhales. "I'm starting a band. A Christian band," she says quickly. "Rock music, you know. I know that the music here is more progressive than most churches and I was wondering if it was possible for us to set up a show?"

Pastor Carlisle is intrigued and rubs his chin thoughtfully. "I'd have to hear you first," he says.

Bella nods, expecting as much. "And if we're good?"

Pastor Carlisle smiles. "I don't see why we can't squeeze in a small show in about a month. Perhaps on the night we do the first commandment? Is six weeks enough time to get the band together?"

Bella grins, unrestrained in her happiness. She feels light – free. "With the talent I'm looking at, six weeks is more than enough!"

"What was it you wanted to ask me?"

Pastor Carlisle watches, amused, as Bella's eyes dart to Edward, who is pouring over a pamphlet with Emmett, both boys hoarding his wife's cookies.

Bella's head is inclined slightly towards the boys when she talks. "It's about Edward. I need a lead guitarist and…I have him in mind, but I've only ever seen him play the piano. Do you know if he plays?"

Pastor Carlisle squints his eyes, thinking back to the time a few years back when he caught Edward playing a sparkling acoustic, practicing a steady chord to accompany a hymn. He also remembers Pastor Abbott's face when Edward hurriedly explained that the music was for church only, slightly smaller hands clutching the instrument desperately.

Yes, Edward could play – rather well, in fact.

But, if Pastor Carlisle revealed this, what would be the consequences?

Unable to lie, Pastor Carlisle sighs, smiling gently. "Yes, he does play. But Bella," he warns quickly when a gleam enters her eye. "Be careful. Keep this band quiet for the next six weeks, until you're sure you have something."

Bella nods, readily accepting and, to an extent, understanding the Pastor's hints. "I will," she promises, moving quickly to Edward's side.

Pastor Carlisle crosses his arms. _God, I pray for their happiness._

* * *

**A/N: So, the last two weeks have been…Well, you know when everything is going great and things seem **_**too**_** easy and then it's not a surprise when Life serves up a steaming pile of shit? Yeah, that has been my last two weeks. **

_**Thankfully**_**, my birthday is tomorrow, I'm turning 19 and going to see Star Trek: Into Darkness…Wonderful readers, you can probably bet that one of my next stories is going to be a sci-fi lol**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews from the last chapter:**

**james3142 – lol yes! Alice is, of course, going to be the rein master! The whole Jasper/Laila toenail painting is just a prelude to the things that little girl is going to make Edward do lol**

**cessperez – Tire swings make me sick but I love the idea of them! Alice as the pianist? Nah, she has some stylin' to do!**

**Mmsinful – Worry not, Jake's interests lie elsewhere!**

**Valentine Rain – I demand to hear my theme song!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Shhh, stop guessing my plots lol**

**boo1414 – No need to pout, I promise!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – You don't have to worry about Jacob!**

**Once Upon A Time I Hated You – Ah, yes, of course it would be Jacob!**

**Maggiejoma – lol Yeah, I guess he does need to up his game! I suppose I usually make him more aggressive? **

**Debslmac – Thank you love muffin!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – OMG that sandwich sounds amazing! Lol**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter - Sassy Mami – Jake's not an issue. But maybe he's the right push to begin the Eddie-finding-his-balls-hunt?**

**Alright, I have a dinner to eat!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

"_There's a memory I have, could be something I read, of laughter and cheap guitars, in a house full of friends, could've been one of ours. We stayed up late, we loved the stars, can't remember the rest, just a few parts."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

"Help me get Laila," Bella tells Edward without preamble. She didn't realize that she startled him, her mind riveted on what was about to happen – it was Friday and it was five minutes until the final bell.

She was _excited_.

Edward's hands fumble with his school bag, his head turning to peer at Bella with barely restrained curiosity. His fingers seem to give up by themselves, his hands stilling on the zip of his bag. "What?"

Bella taps her foot impatiently. The bell hadn't rung yet, but Mrs. Cohen had already given her the go-ahead to get started on her plans. A small part of her mind marvels at the sheer ease in which everything is happening, the two adults involved so far being far more encouraging that Bella thought they would be.

Not that it mattered – Bella would have started this project with or without permission.

"Help me get Laila from the after school program," Bella clarifies.

Edward's brows furrow. "Uh, alright."

Bella's voice cuts into his mind again. "Leave the bag."

"What?"

"Your bag," she says with mild amusement. "Leave it. We'll be coming back here."

Part of Edward wants to protest – he doesn't _understand_ – but a much larger part of him, the one that was practically obsessed with this girl, mindlessly agrees. Why should he protest, after all? Following Bella meant more time with her.

For her part, it actually slipped Bella's mind that she hadn't formally asked or informed Edward of her plans. Really, it was something she should have been aware of, but she was relying on a blind trust, a gut instinct that Edward was exactly what she needed for her band. Plus, she'd taken a play from Mrs. Cohen's playbook and had studied his hands; definite calluses from a guitar on his fingertips.

She takes a step back, slightly abashed at her oversight, but deciding that it would suit her purpose just fine – and hadn't she neglected to tell Jake of her plans, too? Now that she thought about it, of all the people meeting her in less than ten minutes, only Jasper knew _why_.

_What a happy accident_.

When the final bell rings, Edward and Bella find themselves standing at the doors of the cafeteria, permission granted by their music teacher for them to leave early. Two of the elementary level teachers open the doors, revealing children elbow deep in raw pasta, paint and glue, save for little Laila who was bouncing on her toes by the doors. As soon as she has clearance, Laila launches herself between Edward and Bella, clutching each of their legs happily.

Laila grins then signs Laila out, while Edward is convinced that a piggy-back ride is a good idea. Laila's little arms are locked around his neck by the time Bella turns around, much to her amusement.

"Good job, kid," Bella says, taking Laila's pink bag from her and shouldering the very slight weight. "How'd you manage this?"

"It was easy as cake," Laila sings.

"Pie," Bella gently corrects.

"Right! Pie!" A short pause and then Laila's childish voice is in Edward's ear. "Can we make a pie?"

Bella winces, walking a leisurely pace through back hallways beside Edward. "If we get Nana to help, maybe. I'm only good at cookies."

"You have the best cookies!"

Neither Bella nor Laila take notices of the sudden flush of Edward's cheeks and ears in response to the suddenly and decidedly _unchristian_ thoughts that bombarded his mind. By the time they return to the music room, Edward once again has control over his teenage hormones.

He stops short, however, when he sees the odd combination of people left in the room.

Curiously, Mrs. Cohen is missing, her computer shut down and the light to her little office dark.

Jasper sits lazily on the choral steps, Mary Alice's happy chatter in his ear as she fiddles with his curly hair.

Emmett and Rosalie seem to be bickering over something, not that Edward cares too much about that.

Jacob is seated on a piano bench, his expression as confused as Edward's.

And then there's Bella, standing proudly in the middle of the room, looking more pleased than she probably had any right to be.

Laila taps Edward's shoulders, silently demanding to be let down, and he kneels, watching the little girl with careful eyes as she climbs onto one of the higher choral steps. He notices that Bella's gaze is also sharp and smothers a smile when her lips thin and she motions for Laila to climb down another step.

The action was very _motherly_.

Once Laila was relatively safe, Bella turns slightly, clapping her hands once, calling attention to her. "Glad you guys could meet me," she says bluntly, happily.

Rosalie turns from Emmett, her gaze both hard and warm at the same time – she's sizing Bella up in her silent, protective way. "Why are we here."

Bella lifts her chin. "We're starting a band."

The room is silent for a moment, as if in disbelief.

And then, in his classic _Emmett_ way, the largest teen in the room lets out a whoop of joy. "Finally! Some life in this town!"

Rosalie rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest, resting her weight on one leg so her hip juts out. "You know I don't play anything, right?"

"Which makes you perfect," Bella says resolutely. "You're enough of a hard-ass to tame the beast behind you, so I figured you'd be a perfect manager."

"Manager?" Rosalie repeats, a gleam entering her eye. "Alright. But what about Mary Alice?"

Bella cuts her eyes to the delicate teen practically sitting on top of her best friend. "Mary Alice is good at all the things I'm not good at – the advertising, the styling-"

"I'm the stylist?" Mary Alice interrupts excitedly, her trilling voice cutting into the relative quiet of the room.

"I thought it would be a good fit-"

"What about me?" Emmett demands, a large grin on his face. "Huh? What about me?"

Bella takes a deep breath, gathering her patients. Of all the short weeks she'd been in Hallows Town, dealing with Emmett wasn't an art she had mastered yet. She honestly didn't know how Rosalie did it.

"Drummer."

"Fuck yes!" Emmett yells jovially pumping his fist in the air.

Simultaneously, Rosalie and Bella's eyes harden, narrowing into a glare; Rosalie elbows Emmett in the ribs, hard.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Emmett scowls, rubbing the side of his chest.

Rosalie's glare is scathing. "There is a _child_ in the room. Watch your mouth."

Thankfully, Emmett appears appropriately chastised.

Edward isn't sure if he should laugh or not; Jasper releases a lazy, entertained grin; Bella sighs heavily, shaking her head slightly while Laila doodles in a notebook.

Jacob clears his throat. "I only play the piano…"

Bella nods. "I know. It's great. Your style is contemporary enough to be useful for this."

Jake's brows furrow. He was wary of getting too close to people and a _band_ would be exactly the opposite of what he was comfortable with. He dreaded not being accepted – there was only one person who truly knew him and it was a secret that they even knew each other. His fingers twitched before he slowly nodded, agreeing to join the group.

There was no reward without risk, after all. Maybe this was worth it.

Besides, he liked Bella. There was something distinctly warm about her that had been missing from his life; she wasn't like everyone else. He was willing to risk his level of comfort for just that fact.

Meanwhile, Edward found himself leaning against the doorjamb of the music room, aware of Bella's grey eyes on his own. He feels his heart stutter at the intensity of her gaze.

"Lead guitarist," she tells him, as if challenging him.

Edward had come to that conclusion as well; he was the only one left. Jasper would be taking the bass placement and Bella would obviously be singing, because her talent in that area was unmatched.

He admired her so much – Edward was so infatuated that he couldn't deny her, regardless of the fact that his father would most certainly not approve.

He found that didn't matter one bit.

Then, in what Edward would find as an increasingly amusing coincidence, Jake and Edward spoke at the same time.

"What about the music"-"What are we supposed to play?"

The teens exchange a short glance.

Bella smiles serenely. "We'll play original songs, of course," she answers. She turns away from them and addresses Emmett with patience. "Help me find a drum kit online. You'll need something new," she pauses, casting her eyes around the room. "Does anyone else need a specific instrument or anything? It's on me."

Three hours later, an online shopping cart at a massive instrument retail chain is filled with portable amps, cables, the drum kit, spare sticks, guitar stands, clamps, a sleek electric keyboard, a modest electric guitar, guitar picks and a tiny silvery pink triangle for Laila.

The only thing left to decide was the name of the band.

* * *

**A/N: That's right, readers – what should I name the band? I never thought about it!**

**If you haven't seen **_**Star Trek: Into Darkness**_** yet, you should. That's an order! Yum, Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine in those butt-hugging pants? So good! I might have a thing for Spock – or maybe it's just a Quinto-obsession – but good Lord! *fans face* Anyway, Star Trek and Spock did inspire a sci-fi fanfiction that is currently plotting itself in my head…. ;)**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

Valentine Rain – I would accept a Batman-type themesong! Lol

boo1414 – Hmm. He should knock her socks off!

Debslmac – Thank you! :D

Flavia Ribeiro – Worry not!

Aurowanfinn – Ah, Jake, schmake. He's got his own…person lol

Sassy Mami – You're feeling is right! But it'll be okay!

Mmsinful – Thank you!

Jansails – Aww, I'm so touched! That was the sweetest review ever!

Siobhan Whitlock – The movie was awesome! I could go on about Spock, but I wont! Lol Edward will be fine!

LunaDiSangue85 – he's gonna be a rebel! Lol

Guest – Yeah, his dad is a bit of an ass lol

**Superspecial shout out to the first review of the last chapter – **Twilight Rocker 12 – LOL Someone had a lot of sugar!

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Exodus 20:14 "Thou shall not commit adultery."_

Bella Mercer

Bella made a point to never judge people – not for any physical attributes or mental deficiencies or any certain orientations not supported by other "Christians" – and especially never to judge people without knowing them. She was a victim of this crime, a victim of someone looking at her and assuming she had no faith, had no religion, had no _God_ because she expressed herself in a way that was not "acceptable". Bella made a point to never do this to anyone.

But still, she had her suspicions.

For all appearances, Jake appeared to be attracted to the opposite sex; everything about his behavior pointed in that direction. He knew sports, he knew music, and even if he was a little shy, his disarming smile was clearly the product of much practice with the goal to mesmerize women. The fact that he played piano wasn't a factor in Bella's suspicions, nor was the fact that he seemed to pay a lot of attention to his appearance. Both of those particular traits were easily waived, given how "in" it was for men to keep their appearances well maintained and the fact that he seemed to be a real-life piano prodigy.

And yet, as Bella studied Jake's body language, watching from across the youth room as Pastor Carlisle compiled his lecture, her suspicions were strengthened.

It wasn't simply how _enthusiastically_ he talked to Paul, a rather tall, broadly muscled teenager around their age. As Jake conversed with Paul, she could see how he leaned towards the other boy – and how the other boy leaned back. In the short weeks she'd known Jake, practicing certain songs one-on-one with him, she'd never seen _that_ particular smile or the secret glint in his eyes.

Jake liked Paul, as more than a friend, and it was obvious that attraction was returned three-fold.

Bella tilts her head to the side. _They would make a good couple, aesthetically_, she decides. Paul was taller than Jake by at least four inches, had a more muscular build, a slightly more masculine face though his skin was fair, contrasting starkly with his dark hair and hazel eyes. In contrast, Jake had a more feminine look, just slightly, with a softer face and a more lean build, even though Bella thought he was very manly looking when standing alone. Something about Paul's almost overwhelmingly masculinity completely overshadowed Jakes, but it worked for them, that dynamic.

She smiles.

He hid it well, his preference.

Thinking on it, his wide Elton John repertoire might have given him away.

Still, she didn't see anything _wrong_ with Jake's sexual orientation. But she knew other's would. Bella glances to her right, where Edward sat slumped in his chair, ignoring Emmett's boisterous chatter. _Would Edward care about it?_ She hoped not. It would be a deal-breaker for her, if she even considered a relationship.

By the time Pastor Carlisle is halfway through his lecture, the irony of Bella's suspicions strikes her. The seventh commandment, _"Thou shall not commit adultery"_, was more than about remaining faithful in a relationship – it had everything to do with being chaste until marriage and about respecting the seriousness of a relationship.

Bella was no fool – she knew how many people who claimed to be Christian felt about the "choice" of being gay. She knew, if she were to speak up, that she would be in the minority of this group of teenagers. Bella had never seen anything wrong with being gay, after all, firmly believing that having faith in God superseded any sexual orientation.

It was only logical, then, that she took the opportunity provided by a particularly close-minded teenager. She firmly pressed her lips together when he spoke, several people behind him nodding vigorously.

"What about fags?" he said, breaking into Pastor Carlisle's rhetorical questions. "Aren't they committing a sin when they, uh, you know…?"

One of the girls sitting behind him nods. "Totally! I mean, those gays are totally violating God's law! The New Testament says that gay relationships are a sin, right?"

Bella furrows her brows, her arms crossing over her chest. "No," she answers quickly, before the Pastor has a chance. "The original language of the New Testament actually refers to male _prostitution_, not committed same-sex relationships. I mean, Paul may have spoken against homosexuality, but he also said that women should be silent and never assume authority over a man. Should modern-day Christians really respect all of what Paul said?"

The boy who had originally spoken against homosexuality turned an interesting shade of red. "Jesus said being a fag is wrong, so it's wrong."

Bella rolled her eyes in response. "_Actually_, if you ever bothered to read the entire Bible, _Jesus_ never said a word against homosexuality."

The girl behind him huffed. "I know the Old Testament said something about it."

"Sure it did," Bella agrees easily, leaning back in her chair. The weight of eyes on her didn't phase her for a second. "The Old Testament also said it's sinful to eat shellfish or wear clothes woven with different fabrics. Clearly, as none of us are Jewish, are we really going to follow that? I bet the shirt you're wearing right now is a cotton-polyester blend."

The girl sputters. "God made Emmett and Eve, not Emmett and _Steve!_"

Bella allows her eyes to glance around the room, noting Jake's discomfort and Pastor Carlisle's frozen face – clearly, they hadn't been prepared for this type of debate.

_This is so archaic_, Bella thinks scathingly, sighing aloud. "Right. That was when the Earth wasn't populated. There are now 6 billon people – I don't think breeding is an issue anymore," she says dryly, delighting in Edward's smothered laugh from beside her.

"The Bible still defines marriage as one-woman-one-man!" the girl says heatedly.

"Wrong again," Bella smiles, adrenaline pumping through her system. This type of debate had always riled her, because she _knew_ she was right and she made a point to actually know her facts. She didn't make assumptions because she didn't like them. Even as a little girl, she studied the entire Bible, memorizing several books and passages, relishing in the true message; nothing bothered her more than someone getting that information _wrong_ and then having the gall to so vehemently believe in what they were saying. "Don't you read? The Bible also defines marriage as one-man-many-women, one-man-many-_wives_-or-concubines, a _rapist_ and his victim, and a conquering soldier and female prisoner of war. Think about that for a second. In our society today, we don't allow _any_ of those options to be a definition of marriage because they are clearly messed up. So, what's your real problem? Why does a monogamous homosexual relationship bother you?"

"Because it's fucking _nasty_," the boy says, venom in his voice. "_It's disgusting_."

Bella pretends not to notice Jake's flinch, though she does catalogue Emmett's cursing behind her and Edward's clenched fist. For a second, she appreciates her new friends, people who were like-minded, though obviously not as vocal as her. She was confident that this tiff during the Wednesday youth meeting wouldn't alter any of the blooming friendships she'd managed to make; in fact, it might have even strengthened her kindred bond with Jake.

Still, what the boy said bothered her – what right did _he_ have to judge? As far as she was concerned, God and Jesus could judge her for her sins after she died; until then, she was going to stay true to her convictions and do what she could to make the world a more peaceful place.

Nobody in this world had any room to judge anyone else.

"Thanks for being honest," she says sharply. "But an entire population of people shouldn't be discriminated against just because _you_ think gay sex is icky. Get over yourself. Try being part of civilized society."

The boy opens his mouth to retort but Pastor Carlisle literally steps between them. "I think that's enough," he says calmly.

"Pastor," the girl says shrilly. "Tell her that she's _wrong_."

Pastor Carlisle shifts uncomfortably. "It's not my place to tell anyone that their beliefs are right or wrong," he says carefully. "However, everything Bella said was factually correct."

"This is bullshit!" the boy says, standing.

Bella stands as well, sick of the topic. Hadn't she made her point already? "Really? This was the third state to pass gay marriage and you still oppose it? Give it a rest already – there's nothing you or anyone can do about the advancement of society! If the rest of the world can let homosexual people have their peace, then why can't you?"

"You need to shut the hell up you bitch-"

"Jared-"

"-or I'll shut your mouth for you-"

"-stop-" Pastor Carlisle says loudly, his voice ignored.

"-you tattooed _freak_!" Jared continues, his hand forming a fist that was quickly approaching Bella's face.

Before Bella can really process what happens, Edward intercedes, stopping Jared's fist with the palm of his hand, stepping fully in front of Bella.

Pastor Carlisle doesn't seem to truly grasp what has happened – a youth meeting suddenly fueled by one boy's hate and suddenly turning violent – but he does have the wherewithal to grasp Jared's shoulder. "I think you need to leave. I'll be calling your parents."

The short remainder of the youth night is tense and breaks up earlier than usual; after most of the group leaves, Bella walks over to Pastor Carlisle. "I'm sorry," she apologizes. "I would have kept my mouth shut if I had known-"

"Bella," he interrupts. "You're fine. I fully support what you said. _I'm_ sorry that it almost became violent."

"You couldn't have known," she says easily.

Still, Pastor Carlisle shifts on his feet. "I'm shocked that anyone can feel that…_strongly_ about this issue," he tells her quietly. "In the interest of safety, I'll need to contact Jared's parents and the Head Pastor."

Bella understands what Pastor Carlisle isn't saying – _soon, Edward's father will know about this and it could cause problems_.

She nods.

Stepping away from the Pastor, Bella catches Jake's eye. She smiles softly when he mouths, "_Thank you"_.

"_Anytime,"_ she mouths back. And she meant it.

* * *

**A/N: AH, don't flame me! You guys had to have known that I was going to tackle the whole gay-and-God issue eventually, right?**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**jlove34 – Thank you for the band name recommendations! I did consider **_**Mercy's Wings**_** for a really long time!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – Awesome, a fist pump! Lol I'm sorry, FF didn't give me that link. Email me!**

**boo1414 – Lol I see you, encouraging Edward to rebel!**

**Cessperez – Gosh, I hope the band name I settled with was good lol**

**Jeasterl – Hey hey hey! I'm using part of your suggestion for the name of the band!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – LOL just Google for your kid's names!**

**Xmusecangelx – Thanks for the typo catch! I edited it in my master copy! High-gives for happy dances!**

**Theoddwallflower – MMMMMMMMMMMMM….Khan….so misunderstood, so hot…but I'm still a Spock-Girl! Lol**

**CdrIvanova – No no! lol No worries, "Twilight" franchise names were never in the running for the band! Too cliché!**

**Twisted Musalih – Glad you love it!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Nalia-R – I'm always glad to provide sunshines!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

"_Sing, sing  
Arise,  
Arise and be,  
All that you dreamed."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

"The problem," Bella says with certain decisiveness, one that made the other people in the room stop and listen. "Is that we're not in sync. We're getting too caught up in the notes, in the timing. There's no _feeling_."

"How do we fix that?" Jake asks, carefully stretching his fingers as he sat in front of his new electric keyboard.

Bella grins, folding her legs underneath her body as she sits on the floor. "Easy. We get to know each other."

"Sounds too simple," Rosalie interjects, half of her mind busy with acquainting herself with the role of _Manager_ on her iPhone.

Mary Alice sits beside her, sketchbook open on her lap and a large bag full of scrap fabrics beside her. "It could work," she says optimistically, tilting her head at the sketch in front of her then turning to dig through her fabric bag, pulling out a swatch of cobalt blue leather and holding it up against her boyfriend's face. Jasper doesn't flinch, his eyes cutting to the side to stare at Mary Alice, amused by her excitement. She smiles upon seeing how well the soft blue leather complimented Jasper's skin tone and turns back to her sketch, making notes.

From the center of the music room, Bella stretches out on her back, her body restless yet tired. Her mind wasn't quite centered from what happened on Wednesday at youth, but she wasn't about to let it take away from precious band time – there were only five weeks left to be ready now. "What's your favorite Beatles song?" she asks the room. "Mine is _Ob-la-di Ob-la-da_."

"_Hey, Jude_," Edward says, settling himself on the floor near Bella with his new guitar hooked up to an amp. He was marveling at the feel of the instrument beneath his fingers, tuning it as quietly as possible, getting used to the slick body and lack of instant vibration – he was also fascinated by how his heart simply _beat_ for Bella. She was quickly, probably too quickly, becoming everything.

"How does this help us?" Emmett asks with a yawn, idly munching on Mrs. Cohen's _mun_ cookies.

"I find that Beatle's songs tell a lot about people," Bella answers.

"Oh," he says, swallowing a mouthful. "Well, I've always liked _Twist and Shout_."

Rosalie snorts. "You would, babe."

Emmett pretends to be wounded. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You _know_ what I mean," she winks, turning her attention back to her research.

The others in the room studiously ignore the exchange.

"Jake?" Edward prompts, trying to veer the discussion back to Bella's purpose.

"_All You Need Is Love,"_ he says softly.

Edward ignores the secret smile Jake and Bella share, convinced after Jake's behavior on Wednesday that the other teen was _not_ a romantic threat.

"_Let It Be_ has always been a favorite of mine," Jasper tells the room lazily, not addressing anyone in particular.

"This is good," Bella smiles at the ceiling. "With the exception of Emmett, we all seem to mesh pretty well. Wonderful. Emmett, start a beat," she orders, sitting up fluidly.

"What?"

Bella stands. "Get behind your drum kit, take your sticks and play something."

Emmett pauses for a beat and then quickly situates himself behind the shining cherry red drum kit, the cymbols a gleaming silver. "Just play anything?"

Bella shrugs. "We're not composing. We're trying to synch up. I don't think we can fully appreciate each other's talents until we're improvising. So pick something steady , nothing too fancy yet."

Emmett nods, cracks his knuckles and taps his foot on his bass drum, adding a lithe rhythm with the snare drum, occasionally using the floor tom to mix the beat up. Meanwhile, as Emmett fully settles into his sound, Bella pulls Jasper up by the wrist, instructing him to play a complimenting tune with his bass guitar.

"That's our percussion, band. This is our rhythm," Bella says out loud, turning to slip the strap of her well-loved acoustic guitar over her head. "Edward, play against Jasper's sound. Something quick."

Edward spares her a smile, standing and quickly moving his fingers in a bracing chord, adding more complex riffs into the music that contrasted beautifully with Jasper's steady tune.

"Jake? Something…haunting, perhaps?" Bella prompts, her fingers idly strumming a more consistent chord than Edward was playing; she easily picked up on his tune and followed along, the acoustic of her guitar warming the melody up.

As Jake carefully crafts an underlying melody to the song, Rosalie and Mary Alice look up from their busy work. It was almost arresting for them to see this young group of people actually _merging_ their talents. The music in the room was something interesting, a sound that wasn't quite on the market yet – something between rock and indie that was only enhanced by Bella's soothing soprano, trilling notes above the sound of Edward's guitar.

It was easy to see that they needed practice, but Bella had done good.

They _worked_.

Laila stands from the choir steps, no longer content to color in her book now that something interesting was happening. She watched Bella with wide eyes, her smile reaching her ears – everything about this was so _cool_. The girl grabs her little pink triangle and moves in front of Emmett's drum kit, occasionally letting her instrument chime along with his.

For his part, Edward was satisfied with the progress, his heart flying with joy because music was, and always would be, his first love.

Jasper shared a grin with Bella, easily plucking the bass line to perfection while Jake let loose a little, his shoulders relaxing, his nerves disappearing.

_This is it_, Bella thinks wildly. _This is a band. This is us. We could be amazing_.

After ten more minutes of improvising the song, Emmett introduces a fancy combination with his snare and hanging toms, one of his sticks flying out of his hand and putting an end to the cohesive music. "Opps," he grins, his wide smile belying his words.

Edward rolls his eyes, bringing his hands to a stop. He wasn't used to playing for more than a few minutes at a time, so he welcomed the break.

From the other side of the room, Rosalie sits up, her face drawn in concentration. "You guys sound great, but what are you going to call yourselves? Bella? Do you have any ideas? I mean, it _was_ your idea to start a band…"

Bella shrugs, carefully showing Laila how to put a guitar back in its case. "I didn't really think about it, actually."

Mary Alice laughs, folding up her sketchbook. "That's silly."

Bella smiles. "I'm a clown," she agrees. "But I still don't have any ideas. I was hoping someone else might."

Rosalie clears her throat. "I do. I'm not sure if you'll like it or-"

"Shoot," Bella encourages, placing her hands on Laila's small shoulders. Her fingers graze the ends of copper curls and she immediately decides that Laila needs a haircut.

"_Arise_," Rosalie says slowly.

"_Arise_," Bella repeats, rolling the word on her tongue, letting it simmer in her mind. After a long moment, she nods. "I like it. Jasper?"

"Sounds good to me," he says easily, pressing a kiss onto Mary Alice's forehead after he puts his bass guitar away.

"From what I've heard of your songs, Bella, _Arise_ sounds perfect. Fitting, at least, for the music," Jake agrees, leaning his elbows on his knees as he studied the group of people around him.

"I like it too," Edward tells Bella.

His heart thunders in his chest when Bella graces him with a wide smile, her grey eyes bright and eager. "Perfect. Good job, Rosalie," Bella compliments, her eyes taking on a far-away look, almost as if she was imagining the band in its peak. "_Arise."_

* * *

**A/N: Part two of a three chapter update – KEEP READING!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

_1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins._

Bella Mercer

Laila had a fever.

Bella didn't like it.

The death of her parent's was a fresh wound, something that hadn't healed completely, something remembered deep during the night when song-writing wasn't enough to distract from the pain. It was a secret grief, one the ceased her heart with an unrelenting hold.

Yet Laila having a simple fever completely washed it away.

_It was amazing how healing the love of a child can be_, Bella decided. _Even if I saved her from her father, she saved me from my grief._

The fever set in very quickly over Saturday afternoon, leaving Bella sitting vigil beside Laila's bed with a cold cloth the remainder of Saturday night.

Bella skipped church on Sunday, having completely skipped sleeping in favor of nursing Laila back to health. It was her number one priority. Her only priority, really.

Laila was simply more important than an almost meaningless social gathering; church didn't make Bella's faith any stronger, because she could pray just as well at home.

Still, while Laila shivered through the last grips of her fever, Bella took the opportunity to think about her future.

Even when her parents had been alive, college wasn't something she ever gave much thought – her talents laid elsewhere and that was the end of it. Music was Bella's passion, her future, the one thing that always seemed to _fit_.

Laila fit in Bella's heart just like music did.

But what did that mean?

Certainly, _Arise_ was in its infantry, barely even born, still becoming acquainted with itself – but Bella could feel in her bones how successful the band would be.

They would be international, easily, in five years. She knew it. _Arise_ was her destiny.

So was Laila.

_And_, Bella thinks with slow progression, _Edward is, too. He's part of my future in more ways than one_.

How did it all fit together?

The band, a child, Edward? All of these interlocking pieces, one feeding off the other and continuing the beat that was Bella's heart.

Laila, she knew, was too young to take on tour – that much was obvious. That fact didn't detract the thought that Laila should be Bella's in all the ways that mattered; her daughter, legally, through adoption.

Of course, Bella wouldn't have the right requirements when she turned eighteen to adopt Laila – she'd be too young, too uneducated, too over her head.

_The band, though_….

Bella hums under her breath, pressing a fresh cold cloth onto Laila's forehead and adjusting the child's blankets, pulling them right under the girl's chin.

_If I wait until the band is successful, then I can more easily adopt Laila. And Nana is a foster parent – there would be no reason for Laila to ever leave Nana's care while I establish myself._

The plan, as fledgling as it was, seemed good. Details needed to be worked out and it would be more complicated than it sounded, but it could work. It would have to work.

Now, the only thing left to think about is Edward.

_Edward_.

Just his name sent her heart fluttering – a reaction very new to her. In all of Bella's teen years, she hadn't bothered to form a crush on anyone and the crush she had on Edward was gut-wrenchingly solid, massive, overwhelmingly more than a crush.

She suspected he felt the same.

She did wonder, though, what was holding him back?

His father? The band? Was he reluctant to mix business with his personal life?

Bella sighs, thinking about the bright coke-bottle green of Edward's eyes; the nervous way he scratched the back of his head; his quick smiles; the exasperated sigh he releases when dealing with Emmett.

Her fingers work into a knot, the fluttering in her heart moving down to her stomach the more she thinks about him.

Bella had always known she was a monogamous girl, knew that when she eventually found someone that he would be _it_. He would fill the part of Bella's heart that had never been occupied by anyone.

Edward was well on his way to becoming that person.

She wanted to know more about him – wanted to know about all the nuances that made Edward who he was.

With a determined lift of her chin, she decided that it's _exactly_ what she's going to do.

If he wasn't going to make a move, she would.

She'd never been shy about anything, after all, as one of her more glaring personality traits was her bluntness.

When Laila rises late Sunday morning completely fever-free, rousing Bella from her too-light sleep, and demanding they make pancakes, Bella is more than a little surprised to find Edward already in her kitchen.

Her brows furrow, eyes automatically peering out the kitchen window to see Nana's normal parking spot vacant. "Edward? What are you doing here?"

Edward smiles, a slight nervous twitch to his lips. Bella notices that his eyes are darting down and she feels a heat rising in her cheeks – her thin neon green camisole and white silk boxer shorts with matching green polka dots _was_ very revealing, certainly the absolute least she'd ever worn around Edward before. She knew her hair had to be a tangled mess, only half-braided, and her normal thick kohl liner must be outrageously smudged.

To her delight – and slight chagrin – Edward didn't seem to mind her appearance at all. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it, if the pinking of his cheeks was anything to go by.

"Uh, Ester let me in. Said to tell you that she was going to church like you guys agreed last night."

Bella leans against the counter, one eye on Laila as the girl gathers various ingredients from the cabinets. _At least one of us knows how to make pancakes_, she thinks wryly, remembering Nana's cooking lesson from last weekend.

"Aren't _you_ supposed to be at church?"

Edward shrugs. "My dad won't miss me. Mom knows I'm here, heard about Laila being sick from Ester," he says, peering at Laila as she opens the refrigerator. "She's better now?"

Bella stifles a yawn. "It was touch and go last night."

Edward frowns. "Night? Didn't you sleep?"

"I'm fine," she protests, waving him off. "Really. All-nighters aren't anything new to me."

"Bella!" Laila pipes in, tugging on the short edge of Bella's shorts, revealing a new inch of pale skin to Edward's perusal. "Nana said I can't work the girdle."

"Griddle," Bella corrects, patting Laila's head with a smile as she turns to the stove.

"Right," Laila agrees. "Can you crack eggs?"

Bella winces, moving over to Laila, who was balancing on her very own kitchen stool so she would be tall enough to reach the counter. "I'm not so great at it."

"I'll do it," Edward volunteers, standing from the kitchen table and moving to stand on the other side of Laila. "How many?"

Several minutes later, Edward and Laila are covered with little bits of pancake batter and Bella is steadily flipping oddly-shaped pancakes on the griddle. When they sit at the table, Edward raises a brow at his stack and Bella kicks him in the shin.

"Nobody ever said I was good at cooking," she tells him with false anger, helping Laila pour maple syrup over her pancakes.

Edward holds his hands up. "So touchy," he teases. "I didn't say anything."

"You were about to," Bella argues, fixing the strap of her camisole when she see's Edward's eyes drawn to it.

"It's okay, Laila," Edward tells the girl. "Just because Bella can't cook doesn't mean we're all helpless."

"Hey! They're not burnt…too much," Bella protests weakly.

Edward and Laila laugh, digging into their plates with the appropriate, slightly reluctant gusto.

As they eat, Bella has a sudden flash of insight that _maybe_ this could be her future, what it would look like on the weekend or during a break from a band tour.

She decides that it's a pretty wonderful picture.

* * *

**A/N: Final part-three-of-three update!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_Exodus 20:13 You shall not kill._

Bella Mercer

To Bella's delight, Edward doesn't leave her side when the teens from the last youth meeting send her glaring looks – if anything, he stands taller, leans closer, even allows his knee to bump next to hers.

Who knew knees were so sensitive? The small bump sent a thrill through Bella's spine, maybe because her white jeans were ripped on the knees and Edward's tan cargo shorts revealed the skin of his. And Bella knew Edward felt something too because, as soon as the _zing_ shot through Bella's system, he twitched his leg away, sending a shy glance in her direction, as if gauging her reaction, before letting his knee fall against hers again.

The touch was completely innocent and totally revealing at the same time.

Bella enjoyed it.

Immensely.

Pastor Carlisle has the room set up in a slightly different way this week – instead of sitting in the circle of chairs like he normally does, he's brought in a spinning desk chair, which he sits backwards on and rotates as he talks, looking at each of his youthful charges.

Bella thinks he's trying to make a point – assert authority because of what happened last week and the fact that Jared, who was absent today, didn't listen to him.

"There seems to be a slight misconception about the sixth commandment," Pastor Carlisle begins. "There needs to be an amendment. You shall not kill…_on purpose_. Self-defense, in God's eyes, if it's _true_ self-defense, is…well, it's not _okay_, but He overlooks it. He accepts it. He doesn't want you to feel guilty for defending yourself, so it's not a sin. But, aside from that, we have to think about other types of killings – like capital punishment. Because of God's laws, capital punishment is not a sin in His eyes. God gave us justice and he expects us to use it, which we do in a court of law…."

Pastor Carlisle goes on, tracking back to self-defense killing, and how to forgive one's self for it. The lecture is shorter than most and the Pastor releases the group thirty minutes ahead of schedule.

Bella and Edward, along with Rosalie and Emmett, migrate downstairs to the front lobby, hanging out on the low couches, talking about the band, which was progressing beautifully.

Or, at least, Bella thought so. True, they needed a lot of practice, a lot _more_ practice, but they were falling into a comfortable rhythm with each other, learning musical habits and where talent was lacking. Emmett, for one, had a bad habit of clanging his cymbals on Bella's high notes, which was an easy fix because he tended to improvise – he only needed to remember when Bella was singing to avoid that issue.

Edward was sitting rather close to Bella, his shoulder now leaning against hers as they laughed at one of Emmett's outlandish jokes, Rosalie rolling her eyes with a grin as Emmett winks at her. Edward's hand brushes against Bella's – her heart flutters.

His coke-bottle green eyes and his messy hair and the calluses on his hands; he made her lightheaded.

His father, on the other hand, made a heavy ball of dread form in her stomach.

She saw him before her friends did, his facial structure so similar to Edward's, but his eyes dark and cold and angry. Pastor Abbott wasn't outright _glaring_, but it was close, his eyes trained on Edward and Bella's hands.

She pulls away, sits up straighter.

Edward frowns slightly, the laughter dying from his eyes as he follows her wary gaze.

His stomach drops, too.

Edward hadn't told either of his parents why he was staying late on Fridays, sometimes into the late evening, or the fact that Bella was becoming someone important to him. Looking at his father now, he knows he should have said something to his mother – _at least his mother_.

But he hadn't. He'd wanted to keep their blooming friendship – _relationship_ – to himself.

On Sunday, his father had not been pleased that Edward skipped church and Edward had _lied_, said something about a Biology project. That was the only reason why Pastor Abbott had reluctantly waived off his anger.

Now he knew, _knew_, more than Edward was ready for him to know.

This wasn't good.

Pastor Abbott walks calmly forward, approaching Bella and Edward, paying no attention to their rapidly hushing friends. He stops in front of his son and Edward averts his gaze.

His father, for all his faults, for all his pushiness, was his hero.

His hero looked more like a villain now, though, and Edward wasn't sure how to feel about it. Bella opened his eyes in more ways that one, in subtle ways, ways that lingered and gave him strength of mind. With his eyes open, he saw all of his father's subtle prejudices, the favoritism towards how one looks regardless of how one acts. Everything his father preached…wasn't what Edward wanted to be.

Edward loved God.

But he was also pretty sure he loved Bella.

Pastor Carlisle had said something about metaphorical killing in today's Youth meeting. _"The killing, the intentional smothering of another person's wishes and personality, is another type of sin God warns us against. We have to treat each other fairly, with kindness, because even killing that doesn't _kill_ is sinful and against the sixth commandment._"

Thinking about it, Edward's father was guilty of this crime, this metaphorical killing – the passive jibes about Edward's music, the push towards studying theology…All of Pastor Abbott's behaviors towards his only child was smothering Edward. Smothering.

The dread in his stomach lurches to his throat when his father's eyes narrow on Bella's exposed tattoo, the one of scripture on her forearm.

Defiantly, Bella narrows her eyes back.

Something was brewing.

Edward didn't want any part of it, but it couldn't be avoided.

"Edward," Pastor Abbott says, his tone cold, unyielding. "Why aren't you with your youth group?"

"Pastor Carlisle let us out early," he answers, his eyes darting to his best friend's too-serious face. Even Rosalie looked tense.

Did his father always foster this wariness, this caution, or is this a recent change?

"Are you sure you're not skipping?" Pastor Abbott asks, his gaze and question clearly directed at Bella.

Edward clenches his jaw, stands, steps half in front of Bella so his father has to meet his eyes. "Pastor Carlisle let the _entire_ group out early," he repeats, his voice growing as strong as his resolve.

"I see," his father answers coolly, then turns his attention back to Bella – rather, her forearm – over Edward's shoulder.

Irritation flares through Edward – _how can his father just brush him off like that_?

"I believe I told you to cover your _tattoos_, Miss Mercer."

Bella lifts her chin and flashes her ring finger, the little equal sign tattooed on her left hand. "My tattoos have meaning, Pastor. Meaning to me and to my family. They are as much a part of me as my friendship with Edward is."

Pastor Abbotts eyes harden. "_Friendship_?" he echoes. "What kind of _friend_ takes a boy from his faith?"

"Dad-"

"What kind of _friend_ tempts him with her flesh? Keeps him out late?"

Horrified, Edward tries to interrupt again. "Dad, _stop_-"

"What kind of _friend_ seduces my son, makes him commit the worst sin?"

Rosalie gasps, her hand squeezing Emmett's knee. _This is terrible._

Bella stands, her fingers squeezing the thin silver chain that carried her purity ring. "I would _never_ do any of the things you're accusing me of, _sir,"_ she spits. "I'm still as virginal today as I am the day I was born, _not_ that it's any of your business. I have never seduced anyone or tempted them with my flesh. I wear the clothes I wear because I like them, _not_ that it matters to anyone else. As for taking Edward away from his faith, _I_ didn't encourage him to skip church Sunday – that was _his_ choice."

"You're a heathen," Pastor Abbott tells her coldly.

Bella's face, chin tilted up, grey eyes narrowed, doesn't flinch. She'd heard worse – certainly not from a man of God, but _worse_. "I love God. And what I choose to do with my body, to my body or with _another_ body is between me and Him."

Pastor Abbott exhales sharply through his nose and turns away from the teenage girl with dark liner and facial piercings – his eyes connect with his son's. "Edward, take Emmett and Rosalie home. I believe you were carpooling with them today."

Edward shakes his head slowly, brows furrowed as he looks at his father with shocked new eyes. _I can't believe he basically called Bella a whore._ "No, Dad," he says tonelessly. "I'll be waiting for Laila's class to let out so I can drive _all_ of my friend's home."

It was the first time Edward had defied his father.

And _God_, did it feel good.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, he's such an ASSHOLE! Lol**

**Shout out to the reviews of the last chapter –**

**ParasiteGoddess – Yeah, a nice little fluffy future!**

**boo1414 – Yeah Bella! Go!**

**Debslmac - **

**Dinotopian – Human love-at-first-sight is always awesome!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – It's a nice little fluff-piece! My first!**

**Valentine Rain – Three cheers for Bella!**

**Cessperez – That was the main controversial theme I think people have with religion in general; it's the go-to, along with judgment and self-righteousness. It totally **_**had **_**to be in this story!**

**manda2784 – Bella kicks ass!**

**james3142 – Yeah! Jake was like "thanks for not outing me!" lol and Bella was like "Anytime, bro!"**

**lvk1978 – If you're still reading, those harpies are everywhere! Ran into a couple up here in Washington!**

**BreakingTwilightNewMoonStyle – Cursing in a church story? *gasp* No, this isn't supposed to be some imaginary world story where everyone is perfectly religious, doesn't curse, doesn't have premarital sex, etc. I'm interested in showing how **_**real**_** religion, real faith, works for teenagers. That involves cursing. **

**sujari6 – Glad you love it!**

**Twisted Musalih – Yep! Multiple chapters a grrrreat!**

**CdrIvanova – Giving. More. Lol**

**Mayejrmorris – Thrilled you're sticking with me!**

**Darcyfan14 – Cool, Bella won the debate!**

**Love M Go Blue – LOL Love that you psychoanalyzed Jared! So nice! And probably true!**

**Jansails – You're reviews are so smart, I just love reading them!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Yeah, can't we all just get along!?**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – **Twilight Rocker 12 – Yes! Fluff Bunnies!

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Psalm 3:6 " I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have

set themselves against me all around"

_Edward Abbott_

His house was tense. It was a feeling in the air almost as tangible as the feeling in Edward's bones.

His father was _less than pleased_, that much was clear.

Edward almost didn't care.

Through the tension between his father and himself, Edward felt so completely elated – he'd done the one thing he never thought he would ever do. He stood up to his father.

And it felt so _good_.

Edward almost maliciously enjoyed the look of surprise on his father's face when he defied the man he grew up thinking was a hero. _Why have I never defied him before? It's great!_

Edward grins to himself, taking out his acoustic guitar and playing it with vigor, completely uncaring of the late hour. His father would just have to deal.

And yet, as freeing as rebellion was, Edward felt like something was missing, like something was wrong.

It hits him like bricks and his fingers stop playing.

_Am I using Bella as a catalyst? _

The thought was enough to make him sick and more than enough to make him start pacing wildly, hands pushing through thick burnt sienna hair. Was he using her? Certainly his confidence had been bolstered by her strong presence and, _true_, he had included her in his rebellion.

Edward sits down on his bed heavily. The realization that he actually _used_ Bella in a way was nearly unforgivable. Nearly. Edward was smart enough to realize that Bella _knew_ he used her and she apparently didn't have a problem with it, which was good. Of course it was good. Encouraging, even though it didn't negate the fact that he had used her confidence, her uniqueness, to boost his own morale.

He lays back on his bed, staring up at his ceiling, feeling his guitar at his side, knuckles rapping against polished wood.

He had to make it up to her somehow.

Edward makes a point to ignore his father the next morning and again on Friday morning; he stuffs his face quickly during breakfast, kisses his mother's cheek and tells only her goodbye. On Friday, she follows him into the hall, concern etched over her face.

"Edward, don't you think this is a bit immature?"

"No," he answer, his head tilted to the floor, his voice purposefully loud. "_John 1:10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us_."

"Edward!" his mother admonishes, eyes wide. She'd never, in her life, heard her son say anything like that in such a way – and to his father of all people. "I'm sure if you just talk to your father-"

"Pastors who throw stones should not live in glass houses, Mom."

He says nothing more but he knows his father heard him.

_Good_._ Message delivered_.

Edward meets Bella and Laila on the walk to school and has to refrain from taking her hand – in his mind, it seems like a natural action. It's not.

After what his father said, there is no way Bella would be interested in anything more with Edward.

He would consider himself lucky if she would accept his apology.

Bella and Laila separate from Edward in the school, Bella going down the first hallway to drop the younger girl off. Edward decides to wait, intent on walking Bella to class; she is surprised to see him leaning against the Library wall.

"Band practice today, right?"

Bella nods, lifting a single pierced brow. "Yeah. It's Friday."

"And we have, what? Four weeks until the big reveal?" he clarifies, walking very close to Bella, his hand brushing against hers.

Though the hall is noisy, Bella is able to pitch her voice low enough that Edward can hear her and nobody else can. "Right. We're making good progress."

"You said we all mesh well."

"And we do."

"Playing three songs is good progress though?"

Bella nods thoughtfully. "Even if the songs are a little rough, having the chords memorized is a big step, especially for a new band. I think today we can clean those three up and start on a new one."

Edward feels a smile curling on his lips. "A new one?"

Bella's abilities to write songs that had meaning was truly something special – she tapped into emotion flawlessly, effortlessly.

"Yeah. _Stand_," she says as they begin up the stairs.

"Short title."

Bella snorts. "All of our songs can't be complexly named. We're not _Coheed and Cambria_, we're _Arise_. Besides, this song is…more about venting, living, expression."

He loved to hear her passion, the way she talked about her music was nothing short of inspirational.

"Is it?"

Grey eyes catch his at the top of the stairs. "Quick chord progression, the song has fire and heart. I thought of you when I was writing it."

And just like that, to Edward, it feels like the world stopped moving around him, like he wasn't in the hallway, like there wasn't a bunch of teenagers pushing past he and Bella as they stand staring at each other.

"Me?"

Bella brushes a stray lock of hair off her shoulder. "You inspired me last night," she tells him, stepping closer as another student brushes against her back; now she stands a few inches from him and he can smell the raspberry of her shampoo. "Standing up to your father for _me_? That was…thank you."

"You're thanking me?" he questions incredulously. "_Thanking me_? God, Bella, no I was going to apologize."

Her brows furrow, a soft quirky smile on her lips. "Apologize?"

One of Edward's hand's gesture uselessly. "I…I _used_ you, Bella. Your confidence. I wouldn't have been able to stand up to my father any other way. You've opened my eyes to, just, _everything_, and I used that last night."

Bella shakes her head. "Edward, you hardly used me. No-" she tells him when he tries to interrupt, her fingers clutching his waving hand. "No, listen to me, Edward. You didn't use me, not at all. If I'm the reason why you follow a dream or a reason why you find your words, then I can give thanks to God that something, anything, can help you find your path. I don't mind being your catalyst."

Edward's head bows down, nearly touching her forehead. The warning bell rings and teenagers scatter to class; Edward and Bella remain by the stairs, intent on each other. He speaks when they are alone in the hallway. "Bella…"

Soft, plush lips brush against his cheek, lingering for a moment before Bella drops back to the balls of her feet. "Edward, didn't I just tell you that I used you as inspiration to write _Stand_? You're my catalyst, too."

Edward's face feels hot, his cheek practically burning from where her lips had touched his skin. Delicately crafted hands studded by flat calluses brush against his shirt collar, straightening his uniform-provided tie. His heart feels like it's beating out of his chest.

He licks his lips, fully intending on kissing Bella,_ a real kiss_, but her fingertips trace his lower lip. "Save it. Get to class," she orders with a twisted smile, stepping back. "I'll talk to you after school."

It might have just been Edward's imagination, but Bella's cheeks looked a bit brighter than usual.

It might have also been his imagination that, later in the day, when Edward smiled at her during lunch, her cheeks flamed.

Again in Biology.

And Music.

And when she handed out the hastily created sheet music for _Stand_ during band practice.

Edward was almost _absorbed_ with the feeling of power he felt. _She blushes for me_, he thinks with absolute certainty. _And she kissed me_.

_I think I love you._

"What, I don't get any sheet music?" Emmett grouses, sitting behind his drum kid.

Bella smirks at him. "Emmett, I have _tried_ that with you and you can't seem to follow it. Or read it. So, now, I'm asking you to follow along with what you think sounds right. I trust your judgment."

"And if I'm wrong?"

Bella shrugs. "I've discussed this with Rosalie and Laila. Trust me when I tell you that you better be _right_, or you'll have a five year old ringing a triangle in your ear for an hour tomorrow."

Emmett's face pales.

Jake, carefully setting up his electric piano, pauses. "Tomorrow?"

"Laila's birthday," Bella answers breezily. "Cake, presents, and a candle shaped like a six. Come over at two."

"Don't worry," Laila's sweet voice says from the floor, where she is busily marking up a coloring book. "Bella promised not to cook. We will be safe!"

* * *

**A/N: Aw, that little Laila is cheeky, huh? And go Edward!**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**vampyregirl86 – I'll take your word for it!**

**Guest – A really shitty pastor? Lol**

**Cessperez – Yep! I had a few of those myself!**

**Bookloverz22 – Don't we all!**

**WhyNotSparkle – Yeah, he is an ass! Lol**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Hey! I'm glad you found a church that you feel comfortable in! That's great news!**

**Byrd3-13 – Cool!**

**ParasiteGoddess – lol You called him "douche wad"! Priceless!**

**manda2784 – Matthew 7 is perfect! Pastor Abbott totally needs to read it!**

**soccergal4h – Glad you love it!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – boo1414 – Oh! John 8:7 is good too! Perhaps I'll use it soon!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"_I wanna be there for you,  
And be someone you can come to,  
The love,  
It runs deeper than my bones."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

"Bella, you _have_ to wear the hat!" Laila argues, the face of a newly turned six year old pouting up at Bella. The hat in question was one of ridiculous party-cone hats, the ones with the strings that were supposed to cook beneath the chin. The color? _Blinding_, Laila-style neon pink. It was a ridiculous color but not a ridiculous plea.

Bella sighs, snatching the hat and securing it on her head. It's lopsided, favoring one side of her head over the other, Bella's freshly curled hair squished beneath the cone. She wears simple cut-off shorts and a loose black-grey-blue floral top; her toes are painted a sparkling blue, courtesy of Laila.

"The hat doesn't match," she tells the girl.

"It doesn't have to!" Laila argues.

Bella smiles – _How could I deny that face anything?_

Laila latches onto Bella's leg, her chin pressing against the teenager's hip as the girl looks up with big, bright blue eyes. "Is it time for my party yet?"

Bella smoothes an errant copper curl beneath a bright yellow party hat. "Soon," she says.

"I'm nervous," Laila blurts out after a moment.

Bella frowns, kneeling down before the girl she thought of as her unofficial daughter, her hands holding the young girl's shoulders. "Nervous?"

"My stomach feels all tickly," the girl says quietly, her eyes wide, far too large. "What if nobody comes?"

_There it is_, Bella thinks sadly. _I've been waiting for the backlash of her father's abuse and now, here it is. _Suddenly, Bella felt too young to handle this.

She sighs. "Sweetheart, I _know_ a lot of people are going to come and help us celebrate your birthday. Is this why you're so determined to make me wear this ridiculous hat?"

Laila nods, biting her lip in a gesture that she learned from Bella.

The older girl wraps Laila in a hug, gently soothing her fears. "It's going to be fun," Bella promises. "The band and I even have a surprise for you."

Almost instantly, Laila pulls back, bouncing on her little pink toes. "_Really_? For me?"

"Of course," Bella assures her. "You're only the most important person today!"

Laila tilts her chin up. "That's right! I am!"

With that as her parting words, Laila dashes out of the room and down the stairs; Bella can hear her asking Nana for a piece of cake, because she should get some early, being the birthday girl. Nana denies the request with a laugh, echoing Bella's own amusement.

Bella, carrying various party favors and her guitar case, follows down the stairs soon after; using her hip, she bumps open the front door and sets the case and the bag of party supplies down on the porch. She makes herself comfortable on the steps, digs through the bag, pulls out an assortment of neon balloons and begins to make her lips and lungs ache from blowing the rubber up.

Halfway through the bag, Edward jogs from his house to Nana's, eyes widening at the sight of Bella absolutely surrounded by a couple dozen balloons. Though he tries to avoid the thoughts, he _does_ enjoy seeing Bella with swollen lips and flushed cheeks – instead of acting on those thoughts, he offers his assistance, which Bella accepts gratefully.

Between the two of them, all of the balloons are blown up and strung on strings, taped to the porch, or otherwise left on the smoothed-from-age-wood, awaiting little grubby grabby hands.

"_Why_ so many?" Edward asks eventually, turning his eyes away from Bella's bottom as she bends down. For respect, of course.

Bella straightens, tossing Edward a roll of white streamer. He watches for a moment as she begins to wrap the streamer efficiently around the porch railing. "Laila couldn't decide on a color."

"So you bought all of them?"

Bella quirks a brow at his slightly incredulous tone. "Yeah, I did."

Edward snorts. "You're spoiling her."

Bella shrugs. "She's mine to spoil," she says, as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

Edward quickly recalls the times he watched Bella and Laila interact – he really couldn't argue, because Laila _did_ seem like Bella's. He wonders if, one day, Laila will be his too; half the time he felt like she already was. Case in point, by the time Edward finishes clumsily wrapping the white streamers around the porch rail, several minutes after Bella completed the task, Laila bounds out the house, right up to him, wrapping her little arms around his hips. "Edward! Edward, Nana said it's almost time!"

"Is it? Are you ready?"

Laila nods jerkily, excitedly. "But you're not – where's his hat, Bella?"

Bella snorts. "How could I forget? Pink or purple?"

Edward peers at the blinding pink hat on Bella's head. Purple seemed like the safer option, so that was the one he chose – unfortunately, the purple option had sparkles.

It isn't until the rest of the band arrives and receives their own hats that Edward discovers that there were different, non-sparkly options. Accusingly, he gestures to them. "You told me there was only pink or purple!"

Bella winks, a wry grin on her face as she hands Jasper a blue cone hat with a feathered edge. "I did no such thing," she says, teasing. "I just led you to believe there was only pink and purple.

Edward sputters for a moment.

"Purple and pink are my favorites," Laila pipes up.

His mild irritation wanes – for Laila, he would suffer through washing glitter out of his crazy hair later on. He suspected it would take two or three showers to completely rid himself of the sparkles.

Half an hour later, most of Laila's classmates arrive and the games begin. Bella spends the time running around between kids, helping them onto the tire swing, keeping them all safe from the swinging stick when they children busted open the piñata and, eventually, handing out slices of carefully cooled – but still warm – cheese pizza. Edward and Emmett are assigned to keeping the boys entertained with tag while Mary Alice and Rosalie host a little face-painting for the girls, which to Edward looked more like mini-makeovers.

As soon as it seems like the kids have tired themselves out, Laila opens presents, expressing a lot of enthusiasm over what she got from her classmates and complete _awe_ over Emmett's slightly inappropriate gift of a poker set.

"_What?_" he hisses after Rosalie and Bella smack the back of his head.

"Idiot," Rosalie says simply, rolling her eyes.

Nana and Bella pass around equally proportioned slices of cake, vanilla with pink, white and purple frosted flowers, and the band sits on the porch steps, Emmett pouting slightly because he didn't have any cake yet.

Bella sits in the middle, her beat-up acoustic in her lap, Edward with his own guitar on her right, Jasper on the other side of Bella balancing his acoustic bass on his lap, Emmett with a single bongo between his knees and Jake with a small portable keyboard in his hands. The children are sitting in front of the porch, on the grass, cake smeared on their faces, waiting with wide, expectant eyes.

Edward starts strumming the third song they learned as a band, his fingers sliding against taut chords – Jasper follows his mellow progression and Emmett hooks into his steady pluck, large hands tapping the bongo rhythmically. Jake starts the simple introduction to the song, keeping his head bowed, while Bella hums along.

She sings, her voice carrying through the open air easily, a slight smile on her face. "_Swirling shades of blue, slow dancing in your eyes. The sun kisses the Earth, and I hush my urge to cry, cry….I wanna be there for you, someone you can come to. It runs deeper than my bones, I wanna be there for you…"_

So absorbed in the chillingly beautiful music, not one member of the band, or Nana, or Rosalie or Mary Alice, or any of the children notice the quietly seething individual watching from afar – Pastor Abbott, arms crossed, teeth clenched, listens to the music, temper flaring slightly. It was soothing music, powerful music – _religious in a way_ – but it was music. His son's closed eyes and skilled fingers, head tilted to the side, prompted a rush of irritation, along with _that girl's_ bell-like voice.

_That girl_, he thinks,_ can ruin my son's future. And I can't let that happen._

* * *

**A/N: So, when I was writing this last part, I put **_**Asshat**_** instead of **_**Pastor Abbott**_**….hmmm, me think this was a Freudian slip? lol**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**Dinotopian – Thank you!**

**Love M Go Blue – lol I bet she does play a mean triangle! All "ding-freakin-ding", bro!**

**Xmusecangelx – My aim is to keep you smiling!**

**MaryJane91 – Three cheers for Edward!**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – lol They are "adorbs"!**

**Maggiejoma – Exactly! Fiction slightly based on reality!**

**Valentine Rain – Woohoo! The sort of kiss!**

**Jansails – Isn't the mother always in the middle? Poor Moms!**

**ParasiteGoddess – lol "Save it!" Go Bella!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Hmm, they are moving kind of slow, huh?**

**Nalia-R – Tell me more about this awesome atheist boyfriend! Religion isn't what's important – **_**faith**_** is important, I don't care what package it comes in!**

**CdrIvanova – I get a toothache writing this story!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – ****Cessperez – Nah, he Ed Sr. deserves it! Lol**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Exodus 20:12

"_Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God giveth you._"

Edward Abbott

"I'm not filling those out," he argues stiffly, arms crossed over his chest, dinner forgotten on the table. In the days between Laila's birthday and today, Wednesday, Edward's father had been quiet. Suspiciously quiet.

And now Edward knew why.

The Christian college applications sat near his left elbow, an imposing stack of papers that he planned to avoid at all costs. Even before he met Bella, Edward had never fully agreed to apply to these colleges – he always said that he would _think_ about it, hoping that when the time actually came, his father wouldn't care where Edward went to college, just so long as he _went_.

Clearly, that assumption wasn't true at all.

"You _will_ fill these out. These are the best Christian colleges on the east coast, Edward."

Edward shakes his head. "No. _No_. That's not what I want to do with my life."

"We've discussed this-"

"_No_," Edward says forcefully. "_You_ have discussed it. I haven't. I don't want to major in theology, I don't want to go to some obscure Christian college and I don't want to talk about it any more."

"Edward!"

"Ed, calm down-" his mother says softly, her tone contradicting his father's harshness.

"Don't bother trying to reason with him, Mom," Edward cuts in, standing from the table. Without hesitation, he grabs the college applications and quickly tosses them into the kitchen trash. Ignoring his father's fuming expression, he addresses his mother. "_That_ is not the future I choose for myself. _That_ is not a future that I ever wanted."

"Edward…"

"I have Youth," he tells her, not looking back as he goes to the front door. "I'll be back at nine."

"Edward-"

He shuts the door before he can hear the rest of whatever his father was going to say.

Across the grass, Laila is on her swing by herself, humming a tune Edward wasn't familiar with – one of Bella's new songs, maybe? She stops when she sees him, her face lighting up in such a way that Edward's chest feels lighter. Laila wiggles out of her tire swing and throws herself at Edward, who catches her easily, not minding the thin arms choking his neck in a hug. "Edward!"

"Hey, kid," he greets, continuing his stride to the porch. "Ready for youth?"

Laila nods, smiling brightly at him. "Bella says I'm gonna learn about Noah and his animals."

"Noah was always a favorite of mine," he confesses. "Him and lions."

"Lions! No, they're scary, Edward!"

A gleam enters his coke-bottle green eyes and he imitates a lion growling, his face scrunching up much to the delight of Laila, whose screaming laughter draws Bella out of the house. One pierced brow rises, taking in the scene. "Uh…kitten?" she guesses.

Edward's face falls. "_Lion_…."

"Oh. A _baby_ lion?"

"Am I not ferocious?"

Bella winks at him. "Not at all."

Edward grins, setting Laila down so she can tell Ester good-bye. Being around Bella and Laila made his issue with his father seem so distant. It helped that Bella was wearing a thin white shirt that fell off one shoulder, the words _MUSIC HEALS_ in bold teal written across her chest diagonally – Edward's eye was drawn to creamy skin and the line of her collarbone.

Edward's face heats. Lately, _especially lately_, Edward had been having very unchaste thoughts about Bella and seeing her skin exposed _now_ was almost too much. He had half a thought to ask her to change into something that covered her gentle shoulders but pushed it away. _Sometimes temptation is a good thing_, he decides.

"You okay?"

His ears heat, color rising on his cheeks. "I'm fine. Why?"

Bella tilts her head at him, loping down the porch steps and stopping in front of him. Her hand reaches up, pushing his hair aside so she can feel his forehead. "You just looked a little dazed, that's all."

If possible, Edward felt his ears get even hotter. "I'm fine," he insists, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Bella's hand falls away and a knowing glint enters her grey eyes. "If you say so."

"I do," he mutters, looking away.

Laila bounds out of the house, Ester's keys in her hands. "Nana said to give these to you, Bella."

Taking the car keys, Bella helps Laila into the car, before rounding the other side, opening the door and raising her brows inquisitively. "Gonna stand there all night?"

Still slightly embarrassed, Edward offers a timid smile, willing his eyes away from Bella's skin. _It looks so soft…_

By the time they pull into the church parking lot, both Edward's mind and body calmed down quite a bit. He wasn't prepared for the guilt that began to weigh on him, though, once Bella and he were settled into their regular seats.

Tonight was a study of the fifth commandment – the very commandment that Edward felt he had been breaking for the past week.

The guilt was a slow build up, a delayed reaction for someone who had always done what his parents expected him to do. He was rebelling. Even worse, he was rebelling with a poor attitude.

The cold feeling sat in his stomach, unrelenting, until Pastor Carlisle started talking.

"The fifth commandment is about more than simply honoring our parents; this is the commandment that opens up a lifetime of respect towards other human beings. Learning this commandment helps us establish a patter of respect. Honoring others should be a normal, natural habit that is learned during youth, while we are still children. Peter 2:17 reads _'Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King'_. The fifth commandment tells us that this expected pattern of behavior starts with the respect and honor we show our parents," Pastor Carlisle says. "But what does honor mean, really? In this context, it's quite ambiguous – honor could mean anything from treating our parents right or talking to our parents a certain way."

"What about when our parents don't honor us?"

The room is silent and, to Edward's shock, all eyes are on him.

He didn't even realize that he'd asked the question.

Pastor Carlisle stares at him with knowing eyes and sits down on his spinning chair. "That's a good question, Edward. See, while the fifth commandment specifically addresses children, it also has an underlying meaning for parents. To God, the role of parents are to prepare children to love Him, too, and to help children find their identity. Teenagers especially search for their own place in society, their own future – but you guys still need guidance, right? The fifth commandment is a two-way street. In Ephesians 6:4, Paul cautions parents and _especially_ fathers to "_provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord_". Just as much as it's your job to honor your parents, it's your parent's job to honor God by honoring you."

The remainder of the discussion was white noise for Edward as his mind flew through all the implications.

Had his father done his job? Edward had a healthy respect for God but Edward wasn't sure if _his_ father really understood why. Edward loved God because it brought him peace, gave him an anchor – that had nothing to do with the Pastor. Did his father not realize that, by pushing Edward in a direction he didn't want to go, that he was provoking Edward's reactions?

Or maybe he did realize it, but he didn't care.

Both thoughts were unsettling.

Edward snaps out of his stupor when Bella shakes his shoulder. "Edward? Carlisle let us out early again."

"He did?"

Bella furrows her brows at him. "Yeah….Edward, come with me," she says suddenly, grabbing his hand and towing him out of the room. She leads him through hallways and up a flight of stairs until they are standing in one of the upper-level booths of the auditorium.

"What are we doing here?" he asks when Bella pushes him down onto a chair.

"Talking," she tells him, sitting beside him, her legs over his knees, her hands grasping his. "Edward, what's bothering you?"

For a moment, he contemplates not telling her.

But the sigh he releases floods the dam of emotions – of frustration – and he beings talking rapidly, feeling her cool grey eyes on him the entire time. "It's my dad. He's just – he wants me to be just like him or something. I don't even know. Today he gave me all of these college applications and pamphlets to these really great Christian schools on the east coast, expecting me to just happily fill them out without a thought. Like my only goal in life is to do as he says. It's not! I love music! I love _Arise_ and playing with you and making something that matters to me."

"Edward…"

"But it's like he doesn't care. I don't want to major in theology, I don't want my life to be a shadow of his, Bella!"

Her arms wrap around his shoulders, her weight shifting onto his lap, Edward's face pressed against her pale collarbone. "It won't be," she promises. "Edward, you make your own way. Your father will get over it."

"What if he doesn't?"

Bella pulls back, her face inches from Edward's, her chest pressed against his with her legs on either side of his hips. Of their own accord, Edward's hands press against her hipbones. "Have faith," she tells him quietly, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

_Have faith_, he repeats, gazing at her with steady, intense eyes, his pulse racing. "Okay," he answers after a moment. "I'll have faith if I can take you out. On a date."

* * *

**A/N: Important chapter for Edward, right? He had to work through the guilt of being a not-so-obedient son **_**and**_** he finally grew some balls!**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**sujari6 – I guess he is kind of controlling, huh? Lol**

**SoothemySoul – I love your name!**

**Valentine Rain – Pastor Asshat does have a nice ring to it! **

**james3142 – lol Yes, Edward totally gets supersighs and his dad totally gets rotten tomatoes!**

**Debslmac – you might be right about that! He should consider a different career!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – I wonder…what an actual asshat would look like….?**

**MaryJane91 – lol Edward is manly in glitter, we have the proof from the original books!**

**Nalia-R – Dude, you do have the sweetest boyfriend, ever! I say YOU propose to HIM! Lol**

**ParasiteGoddess – LOL John Cena dressed as God might give him a smackdown!**

**Jansails – Your reviews are always so poetic! Love it!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – LunaDiSangue85 – Bah Humbug is right! Perhaps we should pepper-spray the Pastor!?**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**

**P.S – DEXTER season premier is tonight! Sooo freakin' excited! **


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

_Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."_

Bella Mercer

"I can't go with you?"

Bella looks away from her dressing mirror, absently, wiping a smudge of dark kohl beneath her eye. "No, chickadee. This is just me and Edward."

Laila's curls bounce when she shakes her head, a pout forming on her face. "But _why_?"

Hearing the whining tone, Bella quickly turns around. "Laila," she says firmly. "What did I say about whining?"

A small grin crosses the little girl's face. "You asked if I want some cheese with my whine."

Bella smoothes the copper curls. "That's right," she says softly, pulling Laila into a hug. "You'll have fun with Nana, tonight. She rented the new Snow White movie just for you."

"Really?"

"Yep," Bella smiles, a feeling of warmth exploding in her chest when Laila runs downstairs, yelling for Nana.

_Parenting is hard_, she thinks, recalling Laila's _testing_ attitude from the last few days. Laila had, apparently, gotten more than comfortable with her life in Hallows Town, especially since the pink cast just came off – she was now testing Bella and Nana's authority, adopting a whining, spoiled attitude that Bella was intent to nip in the bud quickly. She was lucky Laila was such a good kid – this phase of testing wouldn't last long.

She hoped.

With a glance at the clock, Bella turns to her closet, nerves in her stomach.

_It's just Edward_, she tells herself._ He doesn't care what I look like. I mean, obviously he likes what I look like. But he doesn't care what I'm wearing. Why didn't he tell me where we're going?_

Rifling through her closet, Bella frowns. This moment of girlish excitement-slash-panic was getting to her, because all of her most favorite clothes weren't looking like good options.

She looks in the mirror – _too much eyeliner, isn't it? And the time! I'm running out of time_.

Her mind flashes to Edward's handsome face when he waved goodbye after band practice. His eyes shined with promise. He had a plan.

A plan that Bella was irritatingly not privy to.

"Bella!" Laila calls from downstairs. "Edward's here!"

"Crap," Bella curses softly, turning back to her closet. Her white skinny jeans with the rips on the knees, a black and lilac sleeveless floral top with a Peter-Pan neckline, and one of her nicer pairs of black ankle boots are thrown on. She turns to the mirror, hastily wiping away some of the smudge from her kohl liner, dabs on a bit of coral lip gloss, and finger-combs her hair into a simple braid that falls over one shoulder.

Staring at the mirror, she releases a sigh. Bella decides she looks good enough for her first date.

Downstairs, Bella sees Edward waiting on the porch, dressed in dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a checkered red and green flannel shirt open on his chest. He looks remarkably handsome and shy, the tips of his ears pink as he hands over a single purple tulip. "Hey."

"Hey."

Laila bounds out of the house, car keys in hand. "You forgot, Bella," she says, wrapping her arms around Bella's leg.

"Thanks, chickadee," Bella smiles, smoothing away a copper curl. "Be good, okay?"

"I really can't come with you?"

Edward clears his throat. "Next time, Laila. I pinky promise."

Laila's eyes light up in a way only a child's can. "A real pinky promise?" she confirms.

Edward nods, kneeling so that he's eye level. "As real as you are," he says, holding out his pinky and hiding a wince when Laila's little finger enthusiastically squeezes his own.

When Laila runs back into the house, Edward nods over to Ester's car. "You'll drive?"

Bella eyes him. "It depends. Where are we going?"

Edward grins. "It's a surprise," he tells her, bending down to pick up a few items from the porch steps. He catches her wary gaze and winks. "Don't look so suspicious."

Bella settles into the driver's seat, adjusting the mirrors while Edward settles in next to her, a blanket and a brown paper bag in his lap. "So, you don't tell me where we're going, you have secret items, and I'm _not_ supposed to be suspicious?"

"It's not like I'm going to kill you."

Bella snorts and backs out of the driveway. "No, you're right. You wouldn't make a very good axe murderer at all."

"I could wield an axe," he argues mildly. "Turn left."

Directing the car, Bella glances at him. "If by _axe_ you mean _guitar_, then yes."

Edward scowls slightly. "A real axe, too. I do chop wood for Ester."

Bella thinks about the mysterious pile of wood near the shed in the backyard. She always did wonder where Nana got all that wood from; and now, the mystery was solved and Bella's eyes are drawn to Edward's biceps. "Thanks for that," she says after a moment.

His ears turn pink and he clears his throat. "Yeah. No problem. Uh, turn right."

Bella's brows raise. "We're going to New Haven?"

"Kind of."

As it turns out, _kind of_ means that they _were_ going to New Haven – rather, specifically, the outskirts of New Haven, sort of between Old Downtown and a forest area.

"Left," Edward directs. "So, who taught you how to play?"

Driving slowly through the poorly lit area, Bella shrugs a shoulder. "My Dad. He worked with recording artists in New York during the week, playing as a sideman, guitar, bass, piano – you know, whatever they needed. He was really good but couldn't carry a tune outside of instruments. Mom taught me the basics of singing and how to read music. It was kind of a family thing."

Edward smiles - reveling in the new information about Bella, her mystery was being unveiled. "You always wanted to do the band thing, then?"

Bella shakes her head with a distant smile. "Not…_before_, you know," she says sadly. "I wanted to just be a songwriter. But…_after_," she whispers, her voice catching slightly as she refers to her parent's deaths. "_After_…It just didn't seem right. I didn't feel like simply selling my music would honor them the right way. Mom never really wanted me to be only a songwriter anyway – she always said I belonged on a stage."

"You do," Edward tells her. "You looked so alive when you preformed for those kids last week. Oh, uh, right up there, at that fence."

Bella slowly eases the car through the fence, sparing a smiling glance at Edward. "You know, you belong on a stage, too."

"Yeah?"

Bella nods, enjoying his bashful blush. She took comfort in the fact that she made him as nervous as he made her. "We'll get signed," she tells him. "I have a plan after we do the church performance."

Wide coke-bottle green eyes look at her. "_Already_?"

Bella shrugs. "I don't really do anything half-ass."

"No, I don't guess you do," Edward laughs.

After bumping through the dirt road, bright light filters onto the ground and Bella pulls the car up to a vender booth; Edward passes money over her in exchange for two tickets. Bella studies the large white screen and the rows of cars and turns to Edward with a disbelieving smile. "Edward, is this a drive-in movie theatre?"

"Uh, yeah," he says awkwardly as Bella parks in the center of a field. "You don't like it?"

Edward's senses explode with a feeling of _warm girl_ and the smell of orange blossoms as Bella leans over the center console and hugs him tightly.

"I love it," she tells him. "But I hope you brought popcorn!"

"Better," he brags through a deep blush. "All the candy you could ever want."

"What's playing?"

"Grease," he says. "It's one of my favorites."

"Mine too," Bella smiles. "This is perfect, Edward. Let's watch on top of the car."

Edward readily agrees. Together, they climb onto the warm hood of the car, leaning against the windshield as Edward covers them with the large flannel blanket and Bella raids the assortment of candy he brought.

She glances at him through her lashes, nearly laughing at how nervous he seemed, his bright eyes studying the scant inches between them. "Edward," she says, getting his attention.

He looks up, his curious expression turning mildly alarmed as she maneuvers his arm over her shoulder so that she can lean into his side, her head resting on his chest, one of her arms draped over her stomach. His heart beats wildly when she looks up at him.

"Is this okay?"

Edward swallows, nods. It was more than okay.

And the moment seemed so perfect, for them, that Edward couldn't resist.

He leans his head down and kisses Bella soundly, enjoying her gasp of surprise and taking advantage of her open mouth. Her hands reach up to grasp the back of his neck and pull him closer, her chest pressed against the side of his own.

A car honks. "Get a room!"

Edward pulls away, embarrassed, his ears hot and his jeans tight. He's thankful for the blanket.

Bella laughs and pecks his mouth with another kiss before laying her head on his chest again and offering him a Twizzler from the bag. They each quietly sing the songs of Grease between devouring candy, using each other to ward off the chill of the Connecticut summer night.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting! Last weekend sucked! Fingers crossed for a good weekend so I can get another chapter up!**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**blnl0085 – But will he keep them?**

**Xmusecangelx – Ah, yeah, this is my idea of a "drabble" fic lol Chapters around 1,500 words!**

**soccergal4h – Thank you!**

**CdrIvanova – Pastor Asshat is a stinker! Lol**

**Nope – I love the Pomegranates! I considered using some of their lyrics, but went with Flyleaf in the end since they're more widely known! And I'm so honored by your review – it's currently my wallpaper, motivating me to write!**

**Dinotopian – Thank you!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – lol Hilarious. I might have to use that Jezebel line!**

**SoothemySoul – I'm glad you enjoy the Youth Night discussion chapters! I'm afraid that they get too boring! Lol**

**Cessperez – Ditto!**

**james3142 – LOL He did swindle it! And I like to think the Bella is the…I don't know, I guess the "Saint" that Pastor Asshat could never be and she doesn't even try lol**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Nalia-R – lol That's a good point. Oh, I guess your sweet boyfriend can still be The Man!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

_Exodus 20: 8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."_

Bella Mercer

Bella's lips felt chapped and hopelessly swollen; a faint area beneath the corner of her jaw was reddened from the tiny scratch of Edward's facial hair after she managed to talk him out of shaving for a day; and she knew her hair was teased on one side from his fingers twisting through the locks.

However, for as unkempt as Bella felt, _Edward_ looked much worse for wear – his face was flushed a heavy pink, his riotous hair sticking up in more directions than usual, and a fairly dark mark from her mouth prominent on the side of his neck. He kept licking his lips nervously as they quickly straightened their clothes in the empty hall of the church, hidden away in the shadows of the upper auditorium.

"Here," she says, reaching up, rolling onto the tips of her toes, to touch his hair, patting and soothing the sienna locks down until they looked arguably manageable. She admired the mark on his neck and then frowned. "We should button your shirt up."

If possible, Edward's face flushed harder. "What?"

Bella supposed he didn't realize that during their heated session – of which only kisses were exchanged, _thank you_ – Edward must not have realized that while she was exploring his jaw, her hands had other ideas and had undone the first three buttons of his plaid shirt. If asked, she would swear it was that little peak of visible collarbone before they began kissing that fueled the desire to glimpse his upper chest; as lean as Edward was, his muscles were defined well. In fact, he was so well defined that Bella's hands had a mind of their own and lead her from the slightly scruffy edge of his jaw down to the juncture of his shoulder and neck, which was, incidentally, the perfect height for her, as she didn't have to reach onto her tippy toes to kiss that area.

To enlighten him on her hard work – which, truly, had been very enjoyable on her part and his too, if his low groans were anything to go by – Bella circles a finger around her mark. She remembers how he had pulled her head closer when she bit him and smirks. "You have a little something here, is all."

Edward's brows furrow and his own fingers feel the area, wincing at how tender it is. "I don't remember getting this."

Bella smothers a snort and raises a brow. "You don't?"

Edward shakes his head.

"It happened sometime after you pulled me up two flights of stairs and into this hallway, but before we had to stop because your cell phone reminder went off," she says wryly, fingers focusing on the buttons of his shirt, buttoning them to cover the newly formed bruise on his lower neck. "That was pretty clever, by the way, setting an alarm so we wouldn't be late to Youth."

Again, Edward's face heats up adorably, prompting Bella to kiss him again.

Kissing Edward was something of a paradox – both before and after the act, Edward was rather shy about it, and yet, during, he took such control, gripping her body tighter, angling their mouths better, backing her up into the wall again.

_Oh. Wait_.

Bella pulls away, breathless, placing her hands on his chest and giving a half-hearted shove. "Edward, we have Youth."

"Right. Right," he nods, bringing his thumb up to his mouth to swipe beneath his swollen lower lip. "Sorry."

Bella's lips quirk up. "No reason to apologize." _Especially since it's very flattering that just kissing me makes you lose track of time_. "Ready to go?"

Edward's ears heat up and he gestures to her hair. "Aren't you going to, uh…I'm sorry about that-"

"Oh, right," she says brightly, snapping a hair tie off her wrist and finger-combing her hair into a rightly messy braid. "Hopefully nobody will notice that I changed my style."

Edward holds out his hand, which Bella takes easily, and leads them down the stairs to the proper hallway. "Rosalie might have seen us come in."

"And disappear."

"But I don't think she'd say anything. I've caught her and Emmett doing much more questionable things."

"Really?" Bella laughs. "Like what?"

"One time, last year, we were camping and-"

"Edward! Bella! So nice of you to join us," Pastor Carlisle says from behind them.

"Hi, Pastor," Bella says pleasantly. "Skulking around corners today?"

Pastor Carlisle shoots her a weak withering glare. "No more than you, I suppose."

"I take offense to that!"

Carlisle smiles suddenly, looking between the two teenagers, catching their intertwined hands. "I see," he says after a moment, skirting around them. "How's the band?"

Bella raises her brows at his blasé attitude as she and Edward follow him down the hallway towards the Youth room. "It's great, actually. Edward and I are thinking of writing a duet."

"We are?" Edward asks.

"Yes," Bella says simply. "I decided last night."

"Shouldn't I have been involved in that decision if _we're_ writing a duet?"

Bella eyes him. "You were."

"I was?"

"Yes. See, I decided that I wanted to write a duet and then I decided that I wanted you to help me write a duet and now, we're going to be writing a duet."

Edward shakes his head good-naturedly. "Okay," he relents, squeezing his hand. "You didn't use to be this bossy."

Ahead of them, Carlisle chuckles. "Get used to it. That's what I thought after I got married but it's the way of the world. The closer you get to women, the more power they seem to gain. It's a paradox."

"I take offense to that, too, Pastor," Bella says dryly, right before they enter the Youth room.

Bella and Edward settle down next to Rosalie and Emmett – Mary Alice was absent, having caught a cold and claiming that she needed her beauty sleep more than the fourth commandment.

"Today, we're going to talk about Sunday worship. Why do we have it? Why is it on Sunday? From the fourth commandment, we can see that God intended for us to have a day free from work. Of course, in the context of the time period in which the Bible was originally written, having a day of rest was a bit like having the keys to your parent's cars for a whole day," Pastor Carlisle says, waiting for his room full of teenagers to quiet down. "God says that the seventh day of the week needs to be set apart from others so that we can have a chance for spiritual rejuvenation. In a lot of ways, the fourth commandment is a symbolic commandment – almost a reminder that sometimes, we need a break and chance to get one-on-one face-time with God. Yet, the question remains; why _Sunday?_

"The official substitution of Sunday for the Sabbath was orchestrated by the Roman emperor Constantine who made Christianity the official state religion to secure political advantage over a defeated contender for the office of emperor. Originally, the Sabbath day began at sunset on Friday and ended at sunset on Saturday, since at the time the Bible was written, it was customary to believe that the day began at sunset, not sunrise. As modern Christians, we have to adapt our interpretation of the Bible sometimes to fit into our daily lives."

From somewhere in the back edge of the room, a voice calls out, "What about Jesus? Did he observe the Sabbath, too?"

"That's a good question. The answer is, _yes_, he did. In Luke 4:16, _And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read._ Jesus and his Apostles used the Sabbath day exactly as God intended – to help people develop a personal connection with God. The Sabbath day serves as a reminder of the Creation of the world, it's a throwback to the first paragraph in Genesis…." Pastor Carlisle continues on, highlighting the importance of remembering that God is the Creator and that the fourth commandment was meant to encourage a personal relationship between God and his people. "So Sunday church is important, not only because it helps us learn about God and how to be a good Christian, but also because attending on Sunday – or even simply reading your own Bible alone on Sunday – tells God that you hear him and you understand his commandments."

As the room breaks up, Emmett wiggles his brows at Edward. "You know what that means? I could sleep in on Sunday, read a few pages of the Good Book, and play video games, all without putting on underwear."

Rosalie smacks him on the back of his head.

"Hey!"

"You deserved it," she tells him succinctly. "And start wearing underwear to sleep, you creep."

Bella laughs outright, Edward's arm around the back of her chair.

From his place across the room, Pastor Carlisle observes their interaction with a light heart and a heavy mind; as happy as both of the teenagers seemed, he had a fear that this happiness would not last, especially given what he had heard from Pastor Thompson about what Pastor Abbott had been talking about. Carlisle liked Bella, liked her light and fearlessness, and – after sending a short prayer for her health, happiness, and safety – he vowed to do all he could to protect both Edward and Bella from the fall out their band reveal would likely cause.

* * *

**A/N: Dude. Had not idea the fourth commandment was officially so damn long! Lol**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**sujari6 – I thought so!**

**SoothemySoul – They are pretty freakin' adorable!**

**Valentine Rain – LOL PDA!**

**james3142 – Gotta love the brownie points!**

**soccergal4h – I know I would!**

**Jansails – It's my dream date! Lol**

**Cessperez – Drive-Ins look fun!**

**MaryJane91 – LOL Pastor Asshat!**

**Debslmac – Perfect is good!**

**ParasiteGoddess – That's what I thought!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – LunaDiSangue85 – I don't know how "show downy" the show down will be!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	27. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

"_I love you so,  
I wanna meet you again,  
Before one of us must go."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

Laila was perched on Edward's shoulders, her tiny fingers digging into his sienna locks as he walked through the zoo; when they passed by something Laila thought was interesting, she tugged on his hair and shouted for him to look. Edward never flinched.

"Edward! _Edward!_ Look at the pandas!"

Bella laughed when Laila's bag of pink cotton candy hit Edward's face and squeezed his hand. Edward looks down at her with a grin and pulls her over to the panda display. Bella winks at him, then turns her attention to the pandas, which were her favorite animal – and chokes on her air. _God, are the pandas really…?_

"Edward! Is that panda giving the other panda a hug?"

"What?" Edward asks dumbly, pulling his attention from Bella's suddenly horrified face. His brows furrow when his eyes touch on the pandas, his head tilting to the side before his entire face flames red. "Uh…"

"Yes," Bella cuts in quickly, looking up at Laila. "Yep. The pandas are _hugging_. Just friendly hugging."

"That one made a weird noise."

Bella's wide eyes meet Edward's; neither of them wanted to have the birds and the bees discussion in the zoo. "She's ticklish," Edward says. "Just like you."

"Didn't sound like a laugh…" Laila says with a pout as Edward hurriedly walks away from the fornicating animals. "Edward, do you hug Bella?"

Bella bites her lip and rolls her eyes heavenward. _Zoo was a brilliant idea. Really._

Edward's ears turn red. "Uh, I do hug Bella-"

Bella smacks his arm and shakes her head.

"Oh, uh, I mean, I don't hug Bella. Right. I don't _hug_ anyone."

Bella snorts.

Laila tugs on his hair, her attention drawn to something else. "Look, Edward! Koalas!"

As Laila watches the animals with rapt attention, Bella takes the opportunity to tell Edward about the phone call she'd gotten earlier in the day. "I guess it's actually a call back," she says. "A friend of my dad's owns a recording label and since _Arise_ will be performing in 2 weeks…"

Edward coughs, his eyes wide in surprise – or fear. Bella couldn't decide. "Are you telling me that our first live performance is going to be an audition for an actual recording contract? With an actual, real label?"

Bella shakes her head. "Of course not."

"Oh," he sighs with relief.

"We already auditioned."

"What?" he exclaims loudly, drawing the attention of a mother across the way, who takes one look at Edward, Bella, and Laila and sends them all a dirty glare. He scowls right back at her – he couldn't believe that he was being judged outright like that. But then, isn't that how Bella always felt? And, he could concede, that they _did_ appear to be a rather young family. Bella could easily pass for 21 and Edward thought, with a scruffy face, he looked older too; for an outsider, Laila _could_ look like a daughter. He relished the warm feeling in his chest at that thought. _We look like a family_.

"Calm down," Bella says with a raised brow. "Remember last week when I had Jake bring in that sound equipment? I had him and Jasper record a few songs and I mailed the CD to my dad's friend."

"And, what? He just liked it?"

"He wants to see us live. Billy is thorough like that."

"Sounds legit."

"It is," she squeezes his hand, her smile fading. "And I totally didn't even tell you about it. Sorry."

Edward shakes his head. He could be mad, if he wanted to. Bella_ did_ make a pretty big decision without telling him or anyone else in the band; he was confident that Jasper and Jake didn't know she sent that CD off. But he couldn't be mad at her – the entire band was on the same page.

They wanted a label.

They wanted a tour.

They wanted a record.

Bella was making all of that happen.

Edward had nothing to be mad about and that was exactly what he told her; his efforts in honesty were rewarded with a kiss that made Laila say, "Gross".

By the time Bella is pulling Ester's car into her driveway, Laila is asleep in the back seat with a giant giraffe draped across her lap. The image makes Edward smile and he has a sudden flash of insight – _this is what my life will be like_. He helps Bella get Laila upstairs and into bed and then she walks him downstairs, standing on the porch with him, talking quietly.

Edward isn't sure when they stop talking and begin kissing and he doesn't care. There was nothing in the world that was better than kissing Bella – her soft sighs, plump lips, the way her fingers dug into his hair to pull him closer. When he was kissing Bella, he felt larger than life, his height crowding over her, his body pressing against hers, their necks straining against the height difference.

"_Edward_," she breathes, tilting her jaw up and away so that his lips can suck on that one spot beneath her ear, her fingers tightening in his hair; Edward's lips twist into a smile, his hands running down her spine, to her waist, pulling her closer abruptly.

He groans at the contact against his throbbing-

The stairs in the house creak and both teenagers freeze. Nana's footsteps pause at the screen door. "Bella, I think it's time for Edward to go home."

"Okay, Nana," Bella says quickly, her face flushed a lovely pink, hands smoothing down Edward's hair as Ester walks back upstairs. "That was close," she tells him.

Edward isn't capable of thought or speech at the moment – at least, it feels like that. He tears his eyes away from her kiss-swollen lips. "Yeah. Yeah. Close."

"You should go," Bella says with a smile in her voice.

"Where?"

"Home, Edward. Across the way," she tells him with amusement.

His ears flush pink as he peeks at her bemused expression. "Right. I knew that. I'll see you Monday?"

Bella tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Yeah."

Edward keeps the mental image of Bella's flushed face in his mind as he walks home, grinning. He was certain of it now – he was totally and completely in love with that girl. Edward's thoughts are so completely clouded by thoughts of Bella that he doesn't notice his father waiting on the porch until the hand comes down on his shoulder.

Edward startles, stepping back with wide eyes. "Dad?"

"Edward. Have you no shame?"

"What-"

"That girl has ruined you," Pastor Abbott hisses. "Taken your virtue, compromised your beliefs and now, your future. She could be pregnant. I wouldn't put it past a girl like her to get pregnant on purpose-"

"I'm a virgin," Edward cuts in angrily, a dark scowl plastered on his face. "And so is Bella. Watch your mouth."

"Don't tell me what to do, boy."

"No," Edward tells him defiantly. "Don't tell _me_ what to do."

"You disrespectful-"

"You bigoted, self-righteous-"

"-disgrace of a son-"

"-fool excuse for a Pastor-"

"You're grounded!"

"You can't ground me! I'm 18 as of next week!"

Pastor Abbott's face melts into a dark glare. "I can and _will_ ground you. As of today, you are restricted to this house and school. You will go to school and you will be home fifteen minutes after school ends. You will not go next door. You will not speak to that girl."

Edward seethes. "And when school ends on Wednesday? You're just going to keep me prisoner in this house?"

"That's right," Pastor Abbott says coldly. "You won't go to Youth. You'll stay in your room until I say so. If I find out that you've even _looked_ at that girl again, I'll send you off to your mother's family in Maine."

Pastor Abbott walks back into the house, leaving his son standing on the porch, staring blankly at the wooden slats.

Edward had no idea what to do. How had the day gone from so good to so terrible so quickly?

* * *

**A/N: How I loathe thee, Pastor Asshat, let me count the ways….**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**sujari6 – We don't like PastorDaddy! Lol**

**manda2784 – I love Pastor Carlisle! He's so cool!**

**Debslmac – That's what she said ;)**

**boo1414 – Amen to that!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – Thank you!**

**SoothemySoul – LOL Reading your review was awesome, it was like a movie trailer!**

**Jansails – Temptation, huh? He's about to blow the door down!**

**LunaDiSangue85 -*snort* Well, at least I know SOMEONE was naughty in high school.**

**mamacat20 – LOL Yeah, they were kind of stupid do make out at church. Eh.**

**Twilight Rocker 12 – Well, now you know them! LOL See how educational I am?**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Nalia-R – Aww, my own personal stalker! High fives! Wait with baited breath no longer!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**

**P.S – Big hugs to the ladies on Facebook who gave me the encouragement needed to finish this chapter. You know who you are ;)**


	28. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Exodus 20: 7 "_You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain._"

Bella Mercer

Going to Youth without Edward was _weird_. She was used to having him right beside her acting as a buffer for Emmett's off-beat humor; without him, Bella was subject to Rosalie and Emmett squabbling and Mary Alice texting Jasper with flying thumbs.

She was lonely, she realized, without him there.

Bella's heart beats faster as she understands _just_ how important Edward is to her.

She thinks she might love him.

Truly love him.

She leans back in her chair, watching as Pastor Carlisle settles himself into his seat, his gaze turning to her with a brow raised. _Where is Edward?_

Bella shakes her head in response to his silent question. Where was Edward, indeed.

_Locked away in his house_, she thinks irately. _Banned from Youth, banned from Sunday service, banned from seeing me._

The slight weight of her phone tucked away in her pocket makes Bella's fingers itch – she could be like Mary Alice and text Edward. It would be so easy. Too easy. With a churning in her stomach, Bella realized that she had no idea if Edward even had his phone still; in fact, the only reason Bella knew about Edward's punishment is because he'd told her on Monday morning.

She thought it was incredibly unfair, but she didn't pass judgment. How could she? Her parents were no longer around and even if they were, Bella knew that her relationship with her parents was much different than Edward's relationship with his parents.

She couldn't compare.

Edward's punishment did make her nervous though.

There were only two more weeks – really, more like a week and a half – before their band would debut.

Part of Bella was certain they were ready – they played well together, with intuition and trust. _Arise_ was a fully fledged band. She knew that. Yet, the other part of her which strived for excellence, was certain that more practice would do them all some good. She'd never been in a band before, never even performed live before, let alone with other people.

And now, she had to work around Edward's limitations.

She had to play her cards right.

It would do no good to get him in trouble _now_, before their performance.

Bella would have to be sneaky. And she would need Jasper's help.

"Alice, can you tell Jasper to text Edward about our study group on Friday?"

"What?" Mary Alice blinks, looking up at Bella with wide eyes before a devilish smile crosses her face. "_Oh._ Right. The _study group_."

Bella stifles a smile while Mary Alice's thumbs fly over her keyboard. The plan was now in action.

"Phones away," Pastor Carlisle says suddenly, his eyes on Mary Alice.

She smiles sweetly. "Sorry."

"We're going to talk about the commandment that I most struggle with," he says to the room. "The third commandment. _You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.__ How many times do you do this? Be honest."_

_Emmett stands solemnly. "Twelve times a day. I say, __'Jesus Christ' __and __'Goddamn-"_

_"__Sit down, Emmett," Pastor Carlisle says tiredly with a shake of his head. _

_Emmett sits with a huff. The room laughs._

_"__We all are guilty of this at some point or another. I stubbed my toe this morning and took the Lord's name in vain. Sometimes we slip and God does forgive us for that. But taking his name in vain __just__ to do it is where he puts his foot down. Every time we take his name in vain, we're not only disrespecting Him, but also ourselves because __we__ are created in His image. The third commandment boils down to respect – for ourselves, for God, for Jesus, and for each other. T_he Third Commandment focuses on respect; it addresses the way we communicate our feelings about God to others and to Him. It covers our attitudes, speech and behavior. Respect is the cornerstone of good relationships and the quality of our relationship with God depends on the love and regard we have for Him. It also depends on the way we express respect for Him in the presence of others. We are expected always to honor who and what He is. Conversely, the use of God's name in a flippant, degrading or in any way disrespectful manner expresses an attitude of disdaining the relationship we are supposed to have with Him. This can vary from careless disregard to hostility and antagonism. It covers misusing God's name in any way."

Pastor Carlisle goes on to say how we _can_ respect God through our actions and words – like _music_, which he had said with a wink in her direction.

Bella smiles when the room breaks up and Emmett darts for the snack table with Rosalie right behind him, apologizing sarcastically for her boyfriend's appetite. Beside her, Mary Alice shows the text she got from Jasper:

_Jazzy: Edward said he could use some help with his math on Friday night if I call his phone after nine._

Bella smirks. "I can stay out that late. Can you?"

Mary Alice nods. "Rosalie, too. And Emmett's parents are really relaxed."

"Great. Can you tell everyone the new time? I have to talk to Pastor Carlisle."

"Sure," Alice says with a little bounce of her toes.

Bella waits until Pastor Carlisle is free to approach. "Edward is grounded."

The Pastor frowns. "He's never been grounded a day in his life."

Bella crosses her arms over her chest and looks down. "I think it's my fault. His dad….doesn't exactly like me. We went to the Zoo with Laila and when we got back, Edward was grounded. He's not even allowed to _talk_ to me…."

Pastor Carlisle pats her shoulder. "It sounds like a difficult situation. But these things have a way of working themselves out."

"I know. It's just…"

"Frustrating?"

"Yeah."

"How do you feel about Edward?"

Bella feels heat flooding onto her face and she's sure her face is red like a fire engine. "I like him. A lot. He's just…everything I ever hoped for. But I don't want to come between him and his family."

"Bella, have you ever done anything to influence Edward in a negative way? Given him bad advice?"

"No…."

"Then _you_ are not what is coming between his relationship with his father. And _yes_, I know it's his father, not both parents. Pastor Abbott doesn't have a very good poker face."

"What am I supposed to do?"

Pastor Carlisle smiles gently. "You don't have to do anything. Just be you, Bella. And have faith."

Bella thanks him softly, waves at her friends, and leaves to collect Laila. She'd borrowed Nana's car to go to Youth with a promise of stopping by the store on her way home, which she does, using her own gold credit card to buy groceries. It's the least she can do, especially when she buys items that are decidedly _not_ on the list.

Like Ben and Jerry's.

By the time Bella makes it home, it's well past nine and Laila is asleep in the car. Bella recalls the times where Edward had just shown up out of the blue to help her unload the car and sighs, carrying Laila on her hip with bags on her other hand.

She missed him.

A lot.

There was nothing to be done about it, though. Bella knew she was right – she had to play the limited number of cards available to her very carefully. She had to time everything _just right_.

Bella works methodically, settling Laila down to sleep, making other trips to the car for the rest of her groceries, helping Nana unload, taking a shower and settling onto her window seat with a resigned sigh, her head tilted back against the wall.

_Less than two weeks. I can do this._

* * *

**A/N: Wooo! Now, keep reading!**

**Shout out to the reviews of the last chapter –**

**Guest – So glad you're enjoying it!**

**Jansails – Good question! Wonder what Edwards Mommy thinks!**

**Cessperez – lol being grounded does suck!**

**Readingmommy – Wooohoo for rebellion!**

**Debslmac – He totally is!**

**CdrIvanova – He is just turning him away!**

**Dinotopian – Thank you!**

**MaryJane91 – Yeah, Pastor Asshat…the asshat.**

**Valentine Rain – He's the rain to Bella's sunshine!**

**sassygirl156 – lol Pastor Asshat isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, eh?**

**Mayejrmorris – Thank you!**

**sujari6 – Living in sin? *gasp* lol**

**james3142 – lol Yeah! Hugging! Winkwink!**

**Snippets Of Whimsy – LOVE THE NEW NAME!**

**ParasiteGoddess – lol You probably could beat someone up real nice with the Good Book.**

**Flavia Ribeiro – hmmm, should Ester do that? Yes? No? Hmmm.**

**SoothemySoul – lol did the Fornicating Pandas throw you?**

**boo1414 – Yes! Defy the father!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – lol Yeah, he wants to "hug" Bella too!**

**Twinicole – Oh, I hope he does!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – ****Nalia-R – Good song! lol**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	29. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 28**

_Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments."_

Bella Mercer

"Is everything hooked up?"

"Affirmative, Captain," Jake says wryly, raising a brow at Bella's slightly stressed tone.

She bites her lip. "Was I being bossy?"

Jake laughs and checks all of the connections again; every instrument was hooked up to an amp, which was hooked up to a sound recorder, which was hooked up to a computer with a web cam. Being a tech geek was a blessing. "No. I'm teasing. Everything is ready to go."

"Okay, good," Bella says, adjusting the strap of her guitar and tucking her hair behind her ear. "Call him."

Jake types on the lap top for a second, waiting for Edward to pick up on the other end of their Skype session. It had been Bella's idea to simply call Edward during the late band practice but Jake had taken her idea and made it so much better – with all of the equipment Jake was using, he was certain Edward would feel like he was right _there_ in the room as they practiced. It was as good as it would get, for at least another week.

Bella smiles as Jake quickly greets Edward and checks that everything on Edward's end is in working order – as in, _Edward, are you wearing headphones_?

Ideally, Bella would have liked Edward to be playing _with_ them – if not in the same room, then at least over the internet.

But they weren't living in an ideal world.

Edward's father had _no idea_ that Edward was in a band and they were all keen on keeping it a secret until the big reveal. So Edward would have to settle for simply listening to the band play.

Practice is much different without Edward. _Much _different.

Their sound isn't as whole as it usually is and Jasper's playing is a bit off – not enough to throw off the entire song, but enough that Bella notices the slight change.

For a moment, she is very angry at Pastor Abbott for forcing them to work like this – but her anger passes quickly.

How can she be mad, after all? Each one of them – Edward especially – was keeping a huge, life-changing secret.

Her anger had no place to stand.

Bella cuts practice short, wary of the time; she didn't want to come home too late when she knew that Pastor Abbott was right next door, waiting for her to mess up. She ignores the longing in Edward's eyes when they all say good-bye.

She missed him enough already. Seeing him in school everyday wasn't enough.

The weekend passes quietly. Bella lets Laila paint her toes lime green and Nana joins a knitting circle. It's all so mundane without Edward, which makes Bella mad at herself. Since when did she _ever_ let the satisfaction of her life be determined by another person's presence?

It frustrated her that Edward was so important.

Monday night, after a day of meeting Edward in the halls for too-quick hugs and pecking kisses, Bella calls Jasper, venting all of her frustration over the situation and the changes she perceived in herself.

Her best friend wasn't much help.

"Before moving here, you didn't really have friends, right?"

Bella nods even though Jasper can't possibly see her through the phone. "Right."

"Then it stands to reason that you might be a bit pissed at how attached you've grown," Jasper says calmly. Bella can hear him eating pistachios on the other end of the line.

She sighs heavily, tears burning behind her eyes. "Jasper," she whispers, voice broken, distraught with disbelief. "I think I've fallen for him."

"Is that really such a bad thing? Everyone needs someone to love."

"What would I do without you?"

_Crunch_. "Probably wouldn't eat as many pistachios," he says plainly through a mouthful of food.

Bella thinks about what Jasper says for the next two nights, her sleep messed up – partially from her own internal war over her apparent dependence and partially from just missing Edward.

She decides Jasper is right – everyone does need someone to love.

And she loved Edward.

It wasn't a crime.

Of course, it certainly wasn't convenient, but it wasn't a _crime._

It is with that attitude that Bella greets Edward at school, her lips coaxing his, their kiss deep and long enough that a teacher breaks them up. "I missed you," she tells him.

Edward kisses her cheek. "I miss you too. One more week, yeah?"

Bella nods.

For the rest of the day, even when she is driving to Youth, Bella feels the phantom sensation of Edward's lips on her cheek. She drops Laila off at her own classroom, watching the girl with a fond smile as she runs off to join her friends; likewise, Bella hurries upstairs, cringing when she arrives late.

Pastor Carlisle waves her in. "Great. Everyone's here," he says as Bella sits down beside Rosalie. "This week, we're going to talk about the Second Commandment. Does anyone know it?"

"Don't worship false idols?"

Pastor Carlisle nods. "That's the basic of it, yes. _Y__ou shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments._

"With the Second Commandment, God is telling us how to perceive him. He created us in his image so we have no need to create a likeness of him through art or statues. By creating a likeness of what we think God might look like, we are demoting His status from our God to that of a physical object, something we can touch. God never intended for us to be able to see Him, unless we see Him in His son and in ourselves. Because our creator is a living God, it's insulting to make him into a statue."

"But what about Buddhists or Hinduism?" a younger girl asks.

Pastor Carlisle shakes his head. "That's another religion. They have different principles. As Christians, we have to stay true to the commandments that our God gave us…."

As interesting as the discussion Pastor Carlisle starts is, Bella finds that her heart just isn't in it. She devotes half of her attention to the lecture, while the other half is moving a mile a minute, setting up lyrics, notes, clothes, sound settings, Edward, care for Laila, and meeting with Billy.

A week.

Seven days – six, if she didn't count today.

Bella could see her future spread out before her, just barely in reach.

She was so close; everything was coming together. The band, the record deal, Edward, Laila. She still mourned her parents, but quietly, in stolen moments and with nostalgia. She was ready to move on and make their memory proud.

There were still so many things that could go wrong, of course – Edward might not be able to sneak out, she could forget the lyrics, Billy could get stuck in traffic. There were so many variables unaccounted for.

But still, the future was there – like a roadmap. All Bella had to do was follow it.

"I hope you guys are ready for next week," Pastor Carlisle says after the Youth group breaks up.

Bella nods on behalf of the group. "We are. We're….so ready."

"I'll be here early on Wednesday to let you guys into the auditorium. Will that be enough time to set up?"

Bella looks towards Jake, who had grown into their tech person when he wasn't playing the keyboard. Jake was still rather shy – though not around Paul – so he answered with a meek nod. "Uh, yeah. Jasper and Emmett and Edward and I…we are the muscle. We can get it set up really quick. It's just how to get from the school to here."

Bella blinks.

She hadn't thought of that. Emmett's Range Rover wasn't big enough for all of the equipment and Nana's car certainly wasn't going to cut it; not even Mary Alice or Jasper's vehicles would work because they weren't padded.

With her head tilted to the side, Bella directs a question to Pastor Carlisle. "Is there a used car dealership around here?"

"Yeah. Down the highway, closes at eight."

"It's a quarter 'till right now," Rosalie tells her, following Bella's thought patterns. "We'll drive Ester's car over there and then I can drive Ester's car back."

"Wait," Emmett jumps in, looking at Bella incredulously. "You're just going to buy a car? Just like that?"

Bella raises a brow. "Don't be silly. I'm not buying a car."

"Oh," he replies, nudging Jake with his elbow. "Good. Worried for a second."

"A car would do no good. I'm buying a cargo van," Bella finishes with a wry smile, digging out Nana's car keys. "Let's go, Rosalie."

* * *

**A/N: Keep going! **

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	30. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

_Exodus 20:2-3 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me."_

Bella Mercer

"_Careful _with that, Emmett!"

"I am being careful!"

"You almost dropped it!"

"Because you're nagging me, woman!"

"I do _not_ nag! I can't help it if you're an idiot!"

"I'm smart!" Emmett argues, looking back at Rosalie for a second.

"_Watch where you're going_," she hisses when he almost runs into Jasper; Rosalie follows him down the hall, carrying a small bundle of cords.

"Why should I when I've got _you_ telling me where to go?"

Bella rolls her eyes at their bickering, smiling at Jasper as she secures all the cases for the instruments a final time. "Ten minutes and they'll be making up."

"Making out," he corrects, picking up the case of his bass. "That van is awesome."

"Isn't it? Not so much fun to _drive_ but it's perfect for all of our stuff. Right, Jake?"

Jake looks up from the clipboard he's holding, a pencil held in his hand. "What?"

Bella peers at the clipboard. "Is this a check list?"

"I didn't want us to forget anything."

"Good thinking," she smiles.

"Where's Edward?"

Bella frowns and sighs at Jasper's inquiry. "That's a good question. Jake, would you mind shooting him a text and check-"

"No need. I'm right here," Edward says as he walks into the music room. "Sorry I'm late. I had to sneak out. Remind me to never climb out of my window ever again – it was so scary."

"I didn't know you were afraid of heights," Bella comments after she kisses him, a short peck in greeting.

"I'm not," Edward grins. "But you should _see_ our gutters."

Bella snorts. "I'd rather not. Grab something and take it down to the van. I think we have almost everything, right, Jake?"

Jake nods and crosses a few things off his clipboard as Jasper carries down a few cases. "Just about. Did Mary Alice say she was meeting us there?"

"Something about setting up our outfits," Bella says. "Or a dressing room. She's clearing off the stage in the auditorium for us with Pastor Carlisle. Saves us some work."

Edward, Bella, and Jake carry the last of the equipment down to the cargo van, which was very carefully packed. Bella thought it looked something like a game of Tetris and turns to Rosalie with raised brows.

Rosalie smiles, directing them on where to put the last of the equipment. "Nobody has ever beaten my high score."

Jake goes through the checklist one more time while Rosalie and Emmett pile into the Range Rover, Jasper following closely behind. "We'll meet you there?" he confirms as Edward closes up the back of the van.

"We'll be right behind you," Bella promises, climbing into the drivers seat; once Edward has buckled in, she honks the horn and follows after the cherry red Range Rover.

"I still can't believe you just bought this," Edward says.

Bella shrugs. "We needed it. It's not like I can't afford it. It was on sale, too, and Laila _loves_ it. She told me that she wanted to have a slumber party in the back one night. Apparently, this is the best care _ever_ because I can go on pizza and ice cream runs whenever she wants and she won't have to get out of her sleeping bag."

Edward laughs. "She has her priorities straight."

Bella bites her lip, signaling onto the freeway ramp. "Do you? Have your priorities straight, I mean."

Edward sighs, glancing out the window. "I think I do. I'm doing what's right for _me_, for the first time in my life. It's scary, I won't lie – but I love music. I love _our_ music. I think we have something really special, something to offer the world….I don't think I'm compromising my beliefs by following my dreams."

"That's good, then. I just don't want you to get in trouble."

"Bella….I'm going to get in trouble. There's no way around it. I snuck out, I lied to my mom, and I'm rebelling against my dad. All of that is a recipe for the biggest grounding in the world. But I'm 18 now, as of last weekend."

"I missed your birthday?" Bella demands, glancing over at him with huge eyes. _"Edward_! Why didn't you tell me?"

Edward shrugs. "It's no big deal. I was under house arrest anyway."

Bella shakes her head. "I have to make it up to you."

"When we get to the church, take a moment to _really_ kiss me. I'll consider us even," he tells her, a small smirk crossing his face when Bella's cheeks flush pink.

Bella does kiss him – and he thinks that she _really_ means it, because he comes away from her embrace lightheaded and breathless. He jumps when Emmett opens the passenger door. "Come on, dude. Let's _go_."

Setting up the auditorium stage doesn't take that much time – not with Pastor Carlisle to help, anyway, since he helps make trips unloading while Jake works on connecting all of the equipment properly. Emmett assembles his drums in record time while Jasper, Edward, and Bella work on fine-tuning their guitars. Rosalie and Mary Alice run around back stage, cleaning things up and helping Jake connect all the proper plugs. Sound check goes off without a hitch with Pastor Carlisle's untrained ears used as judgment.

With an hour until Youth starts, Mary Alice drags off the band members behind stage, handing them various items of clothing. Emmett is given a black muscle shirt with grey crosses stamped across in random patterns; Jake's polo shirt is replaced by a bright blue t-shirt that says _ALIVE_; Jasper's pants are replaced with a more torn up pair and a dark grey shirt with yellow lettering that reads _BANG YOUR HEAD_; and Edward's pants are replaced with black skinny jeans and a white shirt emboldened with "_Christian Rock ADVISORY: Extreme Worship_".

Bella laughs when he makes a face at the pants. "Just go with it," she says.

"Easy for _you_ to say," he mutters.

Bella smiles and turns to Mary Alice. "What about me?"

Mary Alice grins. "Yours was the most fun. Come on, into this room back here so you can change."

Bella obediently changes into gunmetal metallic skinny jeans, a loose white tank-top with a thick black cross on the chest, the strap of the shirt falling off one shoulder to reveal the purple strap of her bra; she keeps her trusty combat shoes and sits still while Mary Alice lines her eyes again in deep kohl, painting her lips dark pink with gloss. Rosalie assists with her long hair, spraying sea salt into the long strands and running her hands through the slightly curly hair.

"You look like a rock star," Rosalie tells her.

"I feel like one," Bella smiles. "This is really happening."

"Yep. Now, who am I supposed to meet again?"

Bella looks away from her reflection as Mary Alice puts away all of the beauty products. "Billy Black. He's pretty tall, has a scar on his left brow, long black hair."

"Sounds intimidating."

"He's a teddy bear," Bella replies fondly as someone knocks on the door.

"Pastor Carlisle says it's time," Edward tells them through the door. When Bella comes out of the room, he struggles to keep his eyes off the exposed skin of her shoulder, his thoughts centered on the bright purple strap of her bra. He clears his throat and follows Bella and Mary Alice; Rosalie ducks out of the backstage area and heads for the back of the auditorium.

On stage, Pastor Carlisle is talking to the various Youth Groups – high school and middle school. "Today, we learn about the easiest commandment – the First Commandment. _I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. __The First Commandment is the basis of our relationship with God – he tells us, in no uncertain terms, that he is the ultimate creator. He is God. And he expects us to be loyal to who he is," Pastor Carlisle tells the group. "We worship God in many ways, but most notably, through music. And I have a special treat for you tonight, a sort of going-away present since this is our last meeting for the summer. I present to you __Arise__."_

_Bella exhales heavily and leads the band onto the stage at the same time Pastor Carlisle moves to join the audience. The Youth groups are staring wide eyed as she pulls the strap of her guitar over her head and leans into the microphone. _

_Bella thought that she would feel nerves at this point, thought her voice might shake – but instead, a current of adrenaline rockets through her body and she finds herself smiling, almost smirking, at her audience. She glances at Edward, enthralled by the serious set of his face – and then, at Jasper, who looked as calm as ever – Jake looked relaxed, so different from his shy persona – and Emmett looked at home behind his drum kit._

_It was time._

_Their time__._

_Bella was ready._

_"__Breathe on these bones,_" she sings softly, waiting for Emmett to kick into the percussion rhythm, Jasper's bass echoing, thumping, calling Edward's guitar into play. "_Stand - face the world with open hands and tears, and these tired body's spirit perseveres, remembering these wounds will heal and you are not alone in this."_

* * *

**A/N: Last installment for this week!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	31. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

"_Find there's no need to hide,  
the time has come to stand and fight,  
save the world,  
and save that girl,  
from enemies unseen."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

Billy was just as she remembered him – tall, dark hair carefully straightened, wide white-toothed smile, dark intelligent eyes, a feathered earring. He wore an odd outfit of a mocha leather-fringed vest and dark pants tucked into brown cowboy boots; the last time she saw Billy, he had been dressed in Goth attire. He tended to change his style based on his mood, which Bella thought was refreshing given his advancing age.

Rosalie stood beside him backstage, nearly vibrating with excitement. "He's so cool," she tells Bella immediately, absently latching onto Emmett, who was soaked with sweat. She pulls away, making a face. "You need a towel," she says to her boyfriend.

Emmett simply waggles his eyebrows.

Bella shakes her head and directs a familiar smile to Billy. He was like an uncle, just about to pass the cusp of 40 – her father's best friend. When her parents had died, it truly was a toss up between going to live with Billy and going to live with Nana; in the end, surviving familial blood won out. Bella hugs Billy tightly. "Good to see you. Did you like the performance?"

Billy smiles widely. "Sounded even better live than on that tape."

"You mean it?"

"Absolutely."

"Does that mean…?"

Billy laughs. "Let me meet the gang first, then we'll talk record deals."

Bella's face heats up slightly. "Right," she says, turning to her band members. "This is Jake, Emmett, Jasper, Mary Alice, and Edward. You already know Rosalie. Everyone, this is Billy. He's going to make our dreams come true. Right, Old Man?"

Billy scowls good-naturedly. "Who are _you_ calling Old Man? At least I don't have wrinkles."

"I do _not_ have wrinkles."

"Oh yeah? Then what's that on your face?...Oh. Wait. It _is_ your face," Billy teases.

Bella rolls her eyes; Billy never changed. "Thanks, Billy."

"You should be thanking me, since I'm offering you a pretty sweet record deal."

The backstage was quiet for exactly three seconds before Emmett let out a _whoop_ and Jake high-fived Mary Alice; Jasper smiled serenely; Rosalie slapped the back of Emmett's head; and Edward let out a startled laugh. Bella hugs Billy tightly. "How sweet is sweet?"

Billy shrugs. "I'd like to start recording this summer and setting you up on a short New York tour to gain an audience. How many of you are 18?" Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie raise their hands and Billy nods. "For the rest of you, I'll be needing parental signatures. I have the paperwork with me in my car…"

"Go get it," Bella tells him. "We need to start packing up anyway. And thank you."

Billy ruffles her hair. "Don't thank _me_, kid. This is your talent that made this happened. Even if I wasn't your dad's friend, I would be offering this deal. _Arise_ is that good."

As Billy runs off to get the paperwork, Pastor Carlisle ducks behind stage, his face alight with excitement as he claps Edward and Emmett on the back. "That was great! You should see the kids talking about this outside. Who just took off?"

"Billy, our future producer," Bella tells him sweetly.

Pastor Carlisle grins. "Is that right? Congratulations."

"We should be thanking you," she says. "If you hadn't let us play here, we never would have had the opportunity for Billy to see us perform."

With a steady gaze, Carlisle shakes his head. "The music you played tonight was…indescribable. Moving. I would have been an idiot to turn you guys down."

By the time Billy returns with the paperwork, the band has mostly packed up their instruments and equipment, black cases lining the backstage hallway ready to be carried out to the van. Billy hands each of them a packet, assuring them and Pastor Carlisle that the deal is totally in the band's favor. He leaves, but not before helping the band load up the cargo van along with the Pastor and making Bella promise to give him a call more often.

Edward and Bella drive straight to their little cul-de-sac, neither seeing any need to stop by the school just to unload more equipment; the rest of the band was going straight home anyway. Bella parks the cargo van beside Laila's tire-swing tree and turns off the ignition, her grey eyes seeking Edward's coke-bottle green. "It's really happening," she says.

"You make things happen, Bella," Edward whispers, grasping her hand.

"Is it too soon? We could hold off for a year," she offers. "We still have a year of high school left and-"

"No," Edward disagrees. "We _should_ do it now, while the passion and fire is still there."

"Passion doesn't just die. Music is always around."

Edward shakes his head. "Doing it now is the best thing we can do. We're a band. We have a record deal. If God didn't want us to pursue this dream, he wouldn't have given us the opportunity."

Bella smiles softly, leaning forward to brush her lips against his. "You're right."

Edward scratches the back of his neck, the affect of Bella's kisses never ceasing to amaze him. "Yeah, well…"

Bella kisses him again.

He thinks he might have forgotten his name by the time she pulls away.

That feeling of weightlessness carries him home, distracts him so thoroughly that Edward jumps when the hallway light flickers on, revealing his father's perturbed face. "Where have you been?"

Edward lifts his chin. "At Youth."

"You're grounded."

"It was _Youth_. And I'm 18."

Pastor Abbott's eyes zoom in on the papers in Edward's hands. "And what are those?" he demands.

Edward quickly pulls the papers behind his back, not meeting his father's gaze; his mother stands at the foot of the stairs, her face pinched with worry. "It's nothing," he says, walking past his father.

The papers are snatched from his hands. Edward turns quickly, frowning as his father reads the contract.

"A _recording deal_?" Pastor Abbot yells, throwing the papers onto the floor. "That looks like something to me."

"Edward," his mother says softly. "You're in a band?"

"Yeah," he tells her. "And we're really good."

"You're throwing your life way if you sign that," Pastor Abbott cuts in. "It's that girl, isn't it? I told you she would ruin you and now look – she's taking away your future, filling your head with ideas of music. That's leading a life of sin!"

"Music isn't a sin! And "

"The lifestyle is! The drugs, the sex, the partying. No son of mine-"

Edward laughs. "You put your son under house arrest? Right. That's family."

"That whore – that _Jezebel_ – has you so blinded-"

"I'm sorry, but what I do and where I go and who I did it with is _none of your business_," Edward grouches, picking up the contract. His movements are jerky with anger.

"It is my business if you're under my roof!"

"Then maybe I won't live under your roof anymore!" Edward thunders, green eyes blazing.

Edward's mother gasps but Edward doesn't look her way – his steady glare is only for his father. He takes a step back towards the front door.

"If you leave, don't bother coming back," Pastor Abbott says coldly.

Edward clenches his jaw. "I won't."

He leaves without looking back, loping across his yard and onto Ester's porch, his chest heaving, hands clutching the record deal that changed his life in an instant. He knocks on the door, listening to familiar footsteps.

Bella opens the door, flicking on the porch light. "Edward?"

"Can I crash here?"

Bella frowns and steps aside. "What happened?"

Edward shakes his head and takes out his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts. "Can we talk about it later? I need to make a phone call before it gets too late."

Bella hesitates, wanting to know the story behind Edward's angry face and his cold tone, but eventually backs off, going into the hallway to retrieve sheets and a blanket to make a bed on the couch.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Edward is listening to the dial tone and the click when someone on the other end of the line picks up the phone? "Aunt Tanya? I need your help."

* * *

**A/N: Ah, what an Asshat.**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**Maggiejoma – He is a hypocrite in the worst way, trust me! Lol**

**Flavia Ribeiro – Everything will be!**

**sujari6 – The performance did at least! Lol**

**cessperez – yep. Just buy a car, like it's easy or something lol**

**debslmac – Updating is my job, yo. **

**ParasiteGoddess – Glad you love it!**

**Nalia-R – Probably won't be updating NOVA until this one is done; we're almost through! Lol**

**LunaDiSangue85 – I started calling him Professor, too. Damnit. **

**WhyNotSparkle – Someone likes some drama llamas! Lol**

**Jansails – I think you might be psychic!**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – ****Snippets Of Whimsy – LOL All the **_**lyrics**_** in this story are Flyleaf lyrics – I'll be posting a "playlist" for the last chapter. I loved the jokes!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	32. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilght.**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

_Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"_

Bella Mercer

The band was like a family; as soon as Bella woke up on Thursday morning, she was reminded of that fact in the form of Emmett's incessant knocking. She shuffled down the stairs, scowl on her face, rubbing sleep from her eyes and snapping the door open. _"What?_" she asks grumpily, peering at Jake, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Mary Alice in the morning light. "Why aren't we sleeping? There's no school."

A hand closes gently over her shoulder and Bella tilts her head back, looking at Edward, who appeared to be well and truly awake. _He's a morning person_, she thinks blithely.

"I called them over. We won't have another opportunity for this until next week."

"What are you talking about?" she yawns, stepping away from the door and gesturing for her band mates to come inside. Emmett goes straight to the kitchen with Jake on his heels; Jasper collapses tiredly onto Edward's "bed", the sheets and blankets folded up neatly on the edge of the couch; Mary Alice sits beside him, brushing curly blond hair away from Jasper's forehead.

"My mom always goes to a gardening group on Thursday mornings and my dad is usually at the church. I still have my house key, so I want to go get my things," Edward tells her softly. "I'm moving in with my Aunt."

Bella bites her lower lip, nodding, grabbing for Edward's hand. "Are you sure? You don't want to make up with your dad?"

Edward frowns, a flash of disappointment crossing his face. "I'd _like_ to – he's my dad, you know? But I don't think I can. I don't think he's willing to listen."

Bella studies the set of Edward's jaw for a long moment before sliding her arms around his sides, pulling him into a fierce hug. "Okay. Then let's go get your stuff and then we'll have breakfast and then we'll call your Aunt."

Bella didn't bother changing out of her shorts and t-shirt pajamas and instructed everyone to be quiet so as not to wake Laila up – Bella wanted the little girl to get her sleep. Moving Edward's things from his room to Bella's front porch was easy; he didn't take much aside from clothes, books, music, and photo albums. His room looked terribly desolate without his personal touches in it.

By the time the band was done shuffling Edward's possessions around on the front porch, Ester was up and bustling around the kitchen, making a rather large meal with the help of Rosalie and Mary Alice while Bella went upstairs to rouse Laila. For her part, Laila was very excited to have all of her friends over first thing in the morning – Bella almost couldn't get her to brush her teeth. The group eats breakfast over silly stories and good-natured ribbing and Bella finally feels like her family is whole again, even if her Mom and Dad aren't around any more.

As it turns out, Edward's Aunt is Principal Jayne.

Tanya Jayne.

_Aunt Tanya_.

"Are you sure, Edward?"

Edward looks at his Aunt with an unreadable expression. "None of this is my first choice, but he's not _listening_ to me."

"Alright. It's you're choice."

Bella reigned in her surprise at the identity of Edward's relative and helped load up Principal Jayne's – _Aunt Tanya's_ – car, amused that Laila seemed to instantly command the woman's attention, providing the story of the _hugging_ pandas at the zoo.

Bella and Edward share an embarrassed look over that.

Near noon, Edward drives away with his Aunt Tanya and the rest of the band returns to their homes – or Paul's house, in Jake's case.

A little while later, Bella sets Laila up in front of the television while she calls Billy. "Are you still in town?" she asks, running her fingers over the contracts that the band had returned to her earlier before they left. "Because I have something for you."

Billy agreed to drop by the house later on and Ester left for her knitting circle, leaving Bella to entertain Laila for the rest of the day, which Bella didn't mind at all. She felt like she hadn't gotten enough quality time with Laila and intended to make up for lost time.

They had a girly day – a spa day, really. Bella was brave and looked up homemade facial masks online, using kitchen utensils without managing to burn the house down; the girls wore avocado and oatmeal masks, painted their toenails, and watched _The Princess Diaries_.

"Can I eat this, Bella?"

Bella shakes her head. "No, I don't think we should. If it's meant for our faces, we shouldn't eat it, as a rule."

Laila nods and looks back up at the television – Anne Hathaway is getting the makeover. "Why didn't we put cucumber on our eyes?"

Bella peers at the television. "Paulo just said that cucumbers don't do anything."

"They look cool."

Bella hums in the back of her throat. "Then maybe we _should_ put cucumbers on our eyes."

Laila laughs. "My face itches now."

Careful of the drying bright purple polish on her toes, Bella stands, holding her hand out to the girl. "Then let's go wash this stuff off."

Laila's copper curls are pinned away from her face and pulled into a loose ponytail, but Bella still helps her keep the avocado out of her hair as Laila washes the green mixture off her skin. When Laila's face is clean, they trade places with Laila sitting on the kitchen counter holding Bella's longer hair back from flopping over her shoulder.

Faces clean and toes nearly dry, the girls rummage around in the kitchen, looking for something that Bella won't burn; they settle on cold cut sandwiches, Laila's without mustard.

Bella frowns at Laila when the girl suddenly falls quiet, poking the Doritos on her plate. "What's wrong?

"Is my Dad ever coming back?"

Bella swallows and pushes her plate away. She'd been waiting for this conversation but she still wasn't prepared for it. What a loaded question – and how to put it delicately? She wanted to be honest but she didn't want to warp Laila's perception of her family any more that it already was.

She didn't want to traumatize the young girl.

Bella sighs. "He's in prison," she says carefully. "And he's going to be in prison for a very long time."

"Because he made Momma….go to heaven?"

Bella smoothes a copper curl off Laila's forehead, frowning. "Yes."

Laila's large blue eyes peer up at Bella, crystal clear and innocent. "So I don't have a Momma or a Daddy anymore?"

Bella shakes her head and places her hand over her own heart. "Your Momma is always with you, sweetheart. Always. She watches over you from heaven. And you do still have a Daddy, even if he did something very bad. You have to forgive him for that."

"Because God wants me to forgive him."

"And live without hate in your heart," Bella nods. "We have to forgive people because God forgives them."

Laila is quiet, looking down at the table, fidgeting in a way that was completely out of character. She looked nervous.

Bella gathers their plates and washes them, keeping an eye on Laila and her very nervous habits. Growing increasingly concerned, Bella wipes down the kitchen, waiting Laila out – the girl wasn't the type to let anything fester and sooner or later, she would tell Bella what was wrong.

As it so happens, Laila chooses _sooner_.

Laila stands from the table and approaches the older girl, Bella turning away from the counter and dropping her rag to gaze steadily at Laila.

Laila licks her lips and looks up, her brows furrowed in worry. "Bella? Are you….like my Mommy now?"

Bella's heart stutters and tears well up in her eyes. She kneels on the kitchen floor. "I am if you want me to be," she tells Laila softly.

Laila's arms shoot out and loop around Bella's neck and shoulders, hugging tightly. Bella returns the hug, closing her eyes, warmth and love bubbling through her veins.

"Can I call you Mom?"

A tear rolls down Bella's cheek. "Yeah," she answers with a small laugh. "Of course," she says, pulling back, wiping little tears from Laila's face. "That's all I've ever wanted."

* * *

**A/N: Aww, how sweet! And…sappy. Continue reading!**

**Shout out to the first 10 reviews of the last chapter –**

**boo1414 – Yeah! Go Edward!**

**Flavia Ribeiro – Super Aunt to the rescue!**

**james3142 – And damn Pastor Abbott for taking that right away! D:**

**xmusecangelx – Have hope!**

**LunaDiSangue85 – Assbutt is right!**

**ParasiteGoddess – LOL that was brilliant!**

**SoothemySoul – Time and come chapters! Lol**

**CdrIvanova – I love Pastor Carlisle!**

**Maggiejoma – That's right!**

**blnl0085 – Yep. Cliffhanger.**

**Super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter – Nalia-R – LOL Don't let the boyfriend know!**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	33. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

_**CAUTION**: Warning on this chapter – there is __**VIOLENCE**_**.**_ Also, you might want some Kleenex._

**Chapter 32**

"_"Do you believe in God?"  
Written on the bullet,  
Say "Yes" to pull the trigger,  
"Do you believe in God?"  
Written on the bullet,  
And Cassie pulled the trigger."_

_~Flyleaf_

Bella Mercer

Billy wasted no time.

_Arise_ was in the studio recording all of their songs in little under a week with Bella fronting a good chunk of money for production costs. The rest of the band pitched in to make copies of their first CD, which was self-titled after much discussion.

Recording in a studio, as opposed to the choir room, was an interesting experience in itself, though, unlike most bands, _Arise_ chose to record everything in one take. None of them wanted their sound to be too perfect – they wanted it real and the emotions were best performed when they played together. On the rides home from New York City, Edward and Bella would write songs together with input from Jake and Jasper. Very quickly, Bella's coffee-stained notebook was filled to the very last page, where _"Saving Grace"_ was written. Bella told Edward that their song – a partial duet – was her favorite. She enjoyed seeing him blush at the compliment.

Most days, the band ate dinner together – having picked up take-out somewhere along the way – with Ester and Laila, who greeted Bella with an exuberant "Mom!" Bella was still getting used to being called _Mom._ But she liked it.

It took only a month to get _Arise_ recorded and ready for selling. Working with Rosalie, Billy managed to get the band into a very popular club in New York where many rock groups had been discovered; he asserted that since he already _discovered _them, he would just be showcasing the talent. He said every band needed a first step to gain fans and playing at DAWN would be the perfect move – Bella had no reason to doubt him.

Mary Alice took her job as a stylist very important and spent hours with each band member to perfect their looks; Bella suspected she took extra time dealing with the only female in the group, as her hair was dyed a shade darker and cut with more layers and her closet was filled with rock-star clothing. The most attention the boys got was a new haircut. Bella enjoyed the girly time though and made a point to include Laila, which neither Rosalie or Mary Alice minded a bit since the girl had taken to calling them _Auntie Rosie _or_ Auntie Ally_.

As it was, the night of their performance at DAWN approached quicker than Bella was prepared for and she hugged Laila extra tight before she left. "I'll be back in the morning."

"Promise?"

Beside her, Edward kneels down, holding out a pinky. "We pinky promise."

Mary Alice insists on touching up Bella's make up – which Bella thought was already flawless – on the way. If Bella didn't know any better, she would say Mary Alice was nervous for them, because as soon as Alice finished with her, she moved on to gelling the boys hair. Bella thought Edward looked rather kissable with a Mohawk and left the red stain of her lipstick on his cheek, which, of course, made Mary Alice reapply the color to Bella's lips.

Edward just grinned.

DAWN was something else; Billy ushered them through the back, introducing them to various producer friends of his and the stage hands and the owner of the club, Vicky, who was as nice as peach pie with a Southern accent. The energy of the club matched the pulsing lights and the black-light affect; it was clearly a rock club based on the music played. Bella stood at the side stage, exhaling heavily as she stared at the mixed crowd; it was like their very own concert.

Their true debut. Performing for the Youth group was one thing but this – this was something else. More.

The crowd doesn't change much when they go onstage – hardly even a reaction. Bella loops her guitar over her neck, dark metallic skinny jeans and a Peter-Pan collared shirt with a little fish design setting off against the white guitar crossing the front of her body. "We are _Arise_," she says into the microphone, looking over to Edward, who nods and speaks the count down into his own microphone.

The crowd seems to be falling into their music as Bella enters the second chorus_. "Save me grace, I'm sick of saving face. Will You hold me close? You're all I want to know,"_ she sings, her eyes cutting to Edward as she pulls back from the microphone and takes over his chords as he sings, his voice a warm contrast to her own_. "Desperate love has got me where You want. I surrender, take us to the place we can start."_

When "_Saving Grace"_ is over, Emmett, as practiced, changes the rhythm right into _"Fire, Fire"_ and the performance continues. Song after song, played without pause, chords falling into different changes of melody. Bella is sweating, feeling the heat of the room and the heat of the lights – she feels alive. Breathless. Her fingers hurt from the non-stop playing but she still sings until the end of the set, giving herself over to the music.

The crowd roars when they finally stop playing and Bella smiles widely, genuinely, directing her gaze to Edward and his lip-stained red cheek; Jasper, pushing curly blond hair off his face; Jake's rather meek wave; and Emmett, who eggs on the crowd by yelling, _"We are Arise!"_

Bella holds her hand out for Edward, who takes it easily and helps her back stage while the stage hands help collect the instruments to keep them safe from the chanting crowd.

"They're chanting our name," Jasper says with a lazy smile.

"An encore," Billy tells the group, clapping Emmett and Jake on the back. "Very good, kids. Excellent performance."

"Where's Rosalie?"

Billy raises his brows and nods his head to the entrance of the backstage area, where the club meets the curtains; Rosalie is set up with a large pile of quickly-selling _Arise_ CD's. "She's doing what she does best. That girl has a future in marketing."

"That's my girl," Emmett grins, dousing his head with a bottle of water; out of all of them, Emmett's job as drummer is the most strenuous.

"Speaking of which," Bella interjects, turning to Mary Alice who was put in charge of all electronics while the band was on stage. "Could I have my phone? I've got a kid to tuck in."

Mary Alice hands over Bella's device with a smile before wrapping herself around Jasper again. Bella kisses Edward's cheek and goes out the back door. "I'll save you some water," Edward tells her.

"I'll be right back," she replies, already opening her phone and dialing the home number. Ester picks up on the second ring and promptly passes the phone to a rather sleepy Laila. "Hey, chickadee."

"Hi, Mom," Laila yawns into the phone. "Did your 'formance go good?"

Bella smiles into the phone, walking down the alley towards the street, eager to feel the cool night air on her skin. She notices a small group of punks – perhaps a few years older – loitering at the other end of the alley and casually turns around. "It did. Are you being good for Nana?"

"We had sundaes!"

"With chocolate sauce?" Bella asks, pausing and tilting her head to the side when she hears footsteps behind her. She turns around, her eyes widening at the group of men coming towards her. Stupidly, she backs into the wall.

"Duh!" Laila chirps into the phone.

Bella doesn't reply, but slowly draws the phone away from her ear and directs her steady gaze towards the men. "Can I help you?"

"You that lead singer?"

"I am."

The man who asked the question has a shaved head and piercings all over his face, a tattoo on his neck. Given that Bella herself has tattoos and piercings, she doesn't find him all that intimidating, though she is cautious because of the dangerous gleam in his eye. The man sneers. "You singin' about God, then?"

Bella raises her chin, her cell phone clutched in her hand. "Yeah, I do."

He glares at her. "There isn't any God, bitch. And if there is, he's a real shitty one."

Bella stumbles back a step when he gets closer, her shoulder blades hitting the wall. Her eyes dart down to the medical bracelet on her wrist and a wave of brief relief crests over her – if anything _did_ happen, her condition was broadcasted for whoever found her. She had to have faith that she would be okay. "What do you want from me?"

The man sneers again and nods at his friends, who each grab her arms and hold her against the wall. "I'm here to teach you that that _isn't a God_."

The beating is brutal and Bella is on the dirty ground of alley in under a minute. Rolled on her side, Bella cries out in pain when the boot pounds onto her chest, right over her heart – pain so acute that Bella almost blacks out blooms in her mind, her arms coming up to protect her chest, only to bring her limbs into the line of fire. She hears a crack – her wrist, pain flaring again. She can't breathe, the quickly bruising flesh over her heart only enhanced by the uneven beat and pulse of her heart. Her arms fall from her chest again, opening her ribs to the force of a steel-toed boot, which again falls over her sternum, right over her heart.

He stops and his friends back away; the man crouches down, pushing hair behind Bella's ear, almost gently. She cringes away from him. "Do you still believe in God?"

Her answer is immediate. "Yes. I do."

The man slaps her and stands; through swollen eyes, Bella looks up at him, watching as he pulls a gun from the back of his pants.

One of his friends speaks. "Jay, what are you doin', man?"

Jay laughs and points the gun right at Bella – not her head or her heart, but her stomach. Not a shot to kill, then. "I'm provin' a point. Still believe in God, bitch?"

"Yes."

The gun fires twice.

"_Mommy!"_

* * *

**A/N: Keep reading!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	34. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

_**CAUTION**: Tissue warning, okay? You know, maybe. Because I cried and I never cry._

**Chapter 33**

_John 3:16 "__For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."_

Edward Abbott

Edward wonders if maybe it's an automatic reaction, because as soon as everyone backstage hears the gun shot – the _two_ gun shots – everyone ducks down to the floor; he hears screaming and startled shouts from the front of the club. His mind analyzes the sound where the shot came from and his stomach drops.

_Bella_.

_Bella is outside_.

Edward jumps up and runs, snapping open the back door of the club and skidding into the alley – looks left, looks right.

"Edward!" someone calls from in the club.

He ignores them.

His heart lodges itself in his throat when he sees a familiar hand laying in a gritty puddle. He runs to Bella, hearing footsteps behind him; he throws himself at the ground, at her crumpled little body.

She's so still.

Her clothes are rumpled but not torn – a relief to Edward, which is quickly overshadowed by the quickly forming bruises on her face, the split of her lip, and the blood spreading over her lower stomach, dripping onto the alley pavement below her pale body.

_So much blood. _

"_Mommy!"_

Edward's gaze snaps from Bella's stomach to the phone that has landed not too far away from her body. He recognizes Laila's voice and grabs the phone, simultaneously placing his hand over the wound on Bella's stomach, putting pressure on it, his mind recalling dozens of television shows and episodes of Law and Order. "Laila?"

"_Edward! Where's Mommy_?" Laila cries; in the background, he can hear Ester asking Laila what's wrong.

Edward looks at Bella's face – scared of the blood dribbling from her mouth and her shallow breathing – and swallows hard. Beside him, someone drops to their knees and pulls off a jacket; Edward looks at Jasper blankly, his eyes wide and dilated with fear; Jasper returns the look, his head shaking as he pushes Edward's hand aside and presses his jacket onto Bella's stomach.

"Edward?"

He starts at the sound of Ester's voice in his ear. "Bella," he says slowly, his voice broken. Is he crying? His face feels wet. "Something's happened."

Jake skids to the other side of Bella, a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. "Please, Jesus," he whispers, pulling out his phone.

Edward guesses that he's calling the police.

Why didn't he think of that?

Why is there so much blood?

Jasper keeps a steady pressure on Bella's lower stomach, the jacket soaking up blood so quickly – too much blood. She looks so pale.

"Where are you?" Ester asks.

Edward swallows, his mouth dry. He looks at his hand – it's covered in blood. _Bella's blood_. "We're at the club…Bella's been shot."

He hears Jake say the same thing to the police.

Beside him, he can hear Jasper praying in Hebrew.

Ester starts crying on the phone and tells him to let her know which hospital.

Edward disconnects the call, blood smeared across the smooth face of the phone.

_So still. So much blood. Bella._

"Blood's soaking through," Jasper mutters, looking at Edward. "Get Mary Alice or something!"

Edward bolts up and runs to the back door, startled to see so many people peering out the back. Mary Alice thrusts various clothes at him and returns to Rosalie, the girls crying against each other. Emmett is stoic, so serious that Edward barely even recognizes him. He swallows again and turns around, green eyes catching the sight of people huddled around the face of the alley.

"Paramedics won't get through."

"We'll clear them out," Emmett says, stepping past Edward with Billy, who appears to be in shock. Edward runs back with them, dropping to his knees beside Bella again, pressing fresh clothes to the gunshot wounds the settle on her lower belly, between her hips. The virginity ring that she wears on a long chain is stained with blood.

Jasper is praying in Hebrew again.

Jake is still on the phone with the police, praying to Jesus every few seconds. Pleading for her life.

Edward loses track of time but eventually his knees become soaked in Bella's spreading blood. He understands when the paramedics finally show up – her blood wasn't clotting.

The paramedics won't let him go with her.

Billy volunteers to drive and they all pile into the Range Rover, shaken, bloodstained.

He doesn't realize when he arrives at the hospital.

Billy, using whatever power his title affords him, manages to pull some strings so they can get updates on her condition.

_Blood transfusion._

_Surgery._

_Cardiac arrest._

_Revival._

_Another blood transfusion._

Edward prays harder than he ever had in his life.

Eventually Rosalie stops crying and does what she's best at – ordering people around, taking care of everyone. She sends Emmett on a food-run to the hospital cafeteria; Mary Alice is ordered to find Jasper and Edward clothes that don't have blood on them; she even manages to get Jake to stop crying between phone calls to parents.

After Mary Alice gets Jasper and Edward changed into new jeans and shirts, she makes them wash their hands, standing between them in the family bathroom to make sure they're clean. She hugs Jasper extra hard, though he is still muttering in Hebrew.

Edward asks Mary Alice for Bella's songbook – she retrieves it quickly and he crushes the coffee-stained pages to his chest.

He has something of hers now.

The cops come. They ask questions. Nobody has answers.

Pastor Carlisle arrives soon after with his wife; he hugs Rosalie and moves to counsel Jake, who was having a hard time calming down still.

More time passes. Emmett managed to get everyone to drink some water. Jake threw up. Billy was silent, stoic, pale, waiting for updates. Mary Alice fell into a restless sleep. Rosalie continued making phone calls. Jasper's praying became silent. And Edward lost himself in Bella's handwriting.

Then Ester, carrying Laila, is suddenly in the waiting room. Edward stands immediately and holds his arms out for Laila, who begins to cry into his neck, asking about her Mommy; he finds comfort in her clinginess.

Ester, being family, is able to get information about Bella.

_Out of surgery - it was touch and go._

_Currently in ICU. Cannot receive visitors._

Then, the unfair news that almost broke Edward. _Bella's uterus was removed. Too much damage from the bullet._

Rosalie cried again, along with Mary Alice. Edward hugged Laila tighter.

_We'll never be able to have their own children,_ he thinks, feeling Laila's weight on his lap. His surrogate daughter. Bella's daughter, by name. _How is that fair? In exchange for her life…_

Edward accepts the news with resolve. If it was in exchange for Bella's life, then it didn't matter. They could adopt.

Time passes again – more quickly, now that they know Bella will be okay. Or okay enough. She survived.

Edward blinks, realizing that he dozed on the uncomfortable hospital chair with a child in his lap. His neck hurts. What woke him up?

His mother is standing before him, he realizes. And his father behind her. "Mom?"

"We just got here. Rosalie called."

Edward's mouth is dry again. He can't figure out why his father is at the hospital. He looks around – everyone is asleep, including Laila.

"We're here to take you home," his father says. "It's time to go."

Edward bristles and glares. "No. I'm not leaving."

"Edward-"

"No!" he yells, wincing when Laila wakes up. "Shh, it's okay," he tells her, smoothing down her hair. He looks up at Ester, stands, carefully passes Laila over. "Can you stay with Nana for a minute? I need to talk to my Mom and Dad."

"Okay," she says quietly, reluctantly.

Edward takes his parents into the hallway, positioning himself so that he has a clear view of Laila. "I'm not leaving."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know you have a crush on that girl but-"

"A crush?" Edward interrupts with a nasty laugh. "I _love_ her. I'm going to _marry_ that girl, whether you like it or not. She's amazing, wonderful, talented, a horrible cook, and she loves me too."

Pastor Abbott's face pinches. "You can't _love_ her, Edward."

"Why not?"

"Because she's not good for you. She's not good enough _for_ you-"

"If I could interrupt," Jasper says from behind Pastor Abbott, moving to stand at Edward's side. "You're talking about my best friend. The only person in Hallows Town who didn't judge me for being Jewish. Bella Mercer is the best friend I have ever known and frankly, I think _she _is too good for Edward."

Pastor Abbott sighs. "Look, son, I'm sorry that your peers haven't accepted you but-"

"Bella Mercer is the most accepting person I know!" Jake injects. He takes a deep breath and straightens his back. "I'm gay," he tells them. "I like men. I like Paul, specifically. Bella guessed and she never said anything. In fact, she _defended_ me in Youth, defended all gay people. And then, she gave me a safe place to be myself, letting me into the band."

"Bella's cool," Emmett agrees. "One of the coolest people I've ever met. She's never made fun of me for my dyslexia, which she found out about accidently before finals," he confesses, turning his abashed gaze on Rosalie. "I didn't tell you – any of you - because I thought you might think less of me. Only my parents know. I was ashamed. Bella told me that I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Rosalie smiles softly. "It's okay," she says, standing and directing her fiercest glare at Pastor Abbott. "Bella is important to all of us, Pastor. She somehow manages to put everyone else before herself. She would give her _life_ to save a child. She did risk her life for a child, for my surrogate neice. She stands for her convictions, just like me. She never made me feel bad for being so damn stubborn."

"Bella encouraged me to pursue Jasper," Mary Alice picks up, moving to stand beside her boyfriend. "She's always doing something for someone else, for their best interest. She brings out the best in your son."

"And Pastor Abbott," Pastor Carlisle cuts in. "I'm disappointed in you. You shame the name and practice of our church with this prejudice. Bella Mercer is the most pure Christian person I've met in a very long time and you judge her only for her appearances. I think she understands the Bible more than _I _do."

Edward's chest feels warm and he smiles at all of these people – his closest friends standing up for Bella, united with love and understanding.

Ester stands and Laila runs over to Edward; he picks her up easily, ignoring the chokehold on his neck.

"I have to say, Pastor, that I'm also disappointed in you," Ester says coldly. "My granddaughter never said a thing about this bigotry, but I've noticed it. I know the way you and half the church look at her and it is the absolute most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed in my life. If her father was alive, I don't know what he would do."

"I know what Charlie would do," Billy says with a sad smile. "He'd punch you right in the face, Abbott. Probably break your nose for talking about his baby girl like she's some filthy heathen. I have half a mind to do it myself."

Pastor Abbott glares at Billy, opening his mouth to retort, when Edward's Mom actually slaps his arm, hard. She narrows her eyes at him and places her hands on her hips. "I've had about enough of this, Ed," she tells him belligerently. "It's one thing to try and influence our son to follow your footsteps, but it's another to be a complete bigot! Just because your father forced _you_ to give up music doesn't mean that Edward should too! Our son is in love with this girl and I like to think that I raised him to have a good head on his shoulders. He obviously sees something in her – a lot of things, by the sound of it – that you're too blind and stubborn and downright _stupid_ to notice! Can't you see that you're pushing my son away? He moved out, Ed! And it's _your_ doing, not Bella's! I think she's a fine girl, but I'm not so sure that you're a fine man anymore, Ed."

"Liz-"

She holds up her hand, shaking her head. "_No_. I don't want to hear about it. You need to change, Ed. I don't want any excuses. This is not the man I fell in love with and married. It's like I don't even know you anymore. Now, if you're not going to be here to support Edward, _like we came to do_, then you can go on and leave."

With that, she turns away from her husband and takes her son's hand, pulling him back into the waiting room, the others following and taking a seat. Liz and Ester being chatting, Liz apologizing for her husband's atrocious behavior.

Nobody notices that Pastor Abbott seats himself by the door, a pensive expression on his face.

Eventually, after a few hours, a nurse comes into the room and announces that Bella can begin receiving short visits. Ester and Laila go first. Edward bides his time, flipping through Bella's songbook again before coming across the first page.

He stops.

_That's not Bella's handwriting_.

He recognizes the lyrics and, with a painful pull in his chest, reads the signature at the bottom.

_For my Angel. Follow your heart, not your head. God leads us to the places we are needed. Love, Dad._

Edward smiles at the book, a sad sort of smile, and an idea pops into his head. He gets the Range Rover keys from Emmett and runs down to the car, taking out Bella's acoustic guitar that she used last night for one of the songs in the set. He carries it back up to the waiting room and tunes it quickly.

By the time Ester and Laila come back, reporting that Bella is awake – in pain and rattled by the news – but _awake_, Edward is ready to visit her alone. He doesn't notice his father standing and following Edward from a distance.

Nothing could have prepared Edward for seeing Bella in the hospital bed, so pale and little and weak looking. Bella wipes the tears away and offers him a sad smile. "You heard?" she asks.

Edward nods, setting the guitar case down beside the bed, sitting in the chair and smoothing his hand over her own, careful of the IV in her wrist. "I did. I love you," he tells her simply.

Bella cries again, her hand sliding over her stomach where her missing womb was. "I love you, Edward," she tells him brokenly.

His hand covers hers as he kisses her gently, ever so careful of her busted lip and bruised face. "You are so beautiful," he tells her, kissing her again. "I have something for you. A song."

Bella works on wiping her tears away and nods, clearing her throat. "Can I hear it?"

"That was the plan," he tells her, pulling her guitar out of it's case. He exhales once, his fingers settling against the familiar chords of the first song he ever learned how to play – and the only song he'll ever sing to Bella. "_Baby I've been here before, I've seen this room and I've walked this floor, you know, I used to live alone before I knew you. And I've seen your flag on the marble arch and love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah…hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah..."_

Out in the hall, Pastor Abbott leans against the wall, listening to his son sing and play the haunting song, listening to Bella cry and Edward soothe her when he is done, and pang of regret washes over him. And he cries too – hoping that God will give him a second chance.

* * *

**A/N: *wipes tear away* Okay. I have an Epilogue to go write…like, tomorrow. I'm all weepy and stuff. **

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


	35. The Wedding (Night)

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

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**The Wedding (Night)**

_5 years later_

Bella nervously smoothed the skirt of the dress down and forced her eyes to stay on the mirror; she had learned, over time and through several experiences of having her eye poked, that she absolutely could not watch Mary Alice do her make up. It was better for all involved if she just stared at her self in the mirror, not at Mary Alice's hands approaching her face with blunt and sharp objects.

She looked different. Older. Wiser. She thought she might be getting a laugh-line. Her hair was no longer the blackest shade of black; she let her natural dark chocolate brown grow out, the choppy layers softened by waves and curls. She never quite outgrew her habit of putting kohl around her eyes, but she insisted that _today_ be different; Mary Alice didn't even touch the eyeliner.

The door opens – it's Laila. Eleven years old, her copper ringlets had loosened, falling to her waist in large curls, her blue eyes as wide as ever. For a moment, Bella sighed with a frown; Laila was growing up so fast.

"Mom, it's almost time, right?"

Bella looks back at her reflection – her twenty two year old reflection with bright cheeks and doe eyes and pink-stained lips, sitting in a white dress, scripture tattoos peeking out, displayed proudly on her skin. Five years had passed so quickly – graduating high school, going on their first summer tour, taking music classes at Yale – or, in Emmett's case, going to culinary school while Rosalie got a business degree at Columbia – recording another album, another tour, writing more music.

Life was good. _Arise_ was successful. And through it all, Edward was there – sweet, supportive, stubborn, shy, filling her with kisses and love while they both bid their time and kept their purity rings.

And Edward's promise ring, the one he'd gotten her during their first tour, the one which sat below her engagement ring – a plain silver band with _1 Corinthians 13:4-7_. He'd presented it so sweetly, in private before they got on the tour bus. _"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…And I promise you, Bella Mercer, that I will marry you one day._"

Bella exhales. _Today was that day_.

She looks at her daughter, reaches over and fixes one of her curls. "Yeah, I think so. Alice?"

Alice steps back, tilts her head to the side and wipes away a tear. "You're ready," she whispers, resting her hand on her protruding stomach. "Sorry, hormones."

Bella smiles, savoring the fresh pang of sadness. Mary Alice was pregnant, something Bella would never be able to experience; she had forgiven her attackers long ago and made peace with God by honoring the fate of her life. Instead of mourning the children she would never had, Bella had taken to thinking that her potential children were resting in heaven with her parents. She appreciated her Laila more than most and made a point to put her family before her career – and she was happy for Mary Alice and grateful that Mary Alice shared ever nuance of her pregnancy with her.

Bella stands and adjusts the wide straps of her wedding dress; it was rather minimalistic, with a bandage-dress top and a skirt that fell in a graceful line to her feet, a small natural train that trailed behind her as she walked. Bella bends her head down a bit and smiles at Laila. "Can you help with the veil?"

Laila eagerly stands up on her toes and gently pulls the veil forward so that it covers Bella's face. As the flower girl, her dress was the lightest turquoise Bella could find, a color that complimented Laila's unique, delicate coloring.

The veil in place, Bella feels a surge of excitement and looks at Jake and Rosalie, who were watching from the corner couches set up in the room. Jake was crying and Rosalie – being Rosalie – cocked a brow and tapped at the silver watch on her wrist. "It's about time," she says with a wry smile.

Jake laughs. "Like you didn't make us all wait _three hours_ on your day," he tells her with a hip-bump.

Rosalie breaks into a smile. "I was on schedule," she insists.

Jake rolls his eyes and moves to the door. "I'm telling Paul to go find Billy," he says.

Bella laughs at his exasperated tone; Jake was the first of them to get married, four years ago as soon as Paul agreed. They're waiting on the adoption agency to approve their forms, which Edward and Bella are also signed up for, having adopted Laila as soon as they were both 18.

Jake makes Paul wait outside while Billy comes into the room – something about Paul being a groomsman so he _wasn't allowed to see the bride because he might report back to Edward_.

Billy hadn't aged much – a few grey hairs but still no wrinkles. He'd cried when Bella and Edward asked him to stand in for her father. "You look great, kid."

Laila frowns up at him. "Grampa, _great_ is not good! Mom looks beautiful!"

Billy pulls a face at Laila's name for him. "I'm too young to be a grandfather," he tells her. "Please, just once, say _Uncle_."

Laila raises a single brow, much like Bella would. "You're too old to be an Uncle and I already have two of those."

"You already have one grandfather," Billy argues. "And I'm not old."

Laila looks up at Bella. "Mom," she sighs. "I know you said it's rude, but he _does_ have grey hair, so doesn't that mean he's old?"

Bella laughs, smiling mirthfully at Billy. "Chickadee has a point," she tells him. "She's been calling you Grampa for four years, I don't think it's going to change anytime soon. Besides, Ed Sr. is _Granddad_ – Laila's numbers have to be even. Two grandparents each. Might as well accept it now."

Billy pulls a hand down his face. "Fine. _Fine_. Alright. Well, let's go then," he says, looking a bit green around the gills.

Rosalie rolls her eyes. "Ridiculous. The famous Billy Black has no trouble haggling with the biggest producers or presenting awards, but he gets stage fright when he has to walk ten feet down an aisle? I'm so disappointed."

Billy shoots her a look. "I could fire you."

"You can't fire a manager. I mange _you_ too."

"Damnit."

"Oh! You owe me five dollars!" Laila injects, holding her hand out.

Billy sighs. "I'm going broke, pipsqueak," he says, pulling out his wallet and handing her a twenty. "Let's just have this cover the whole day, yeah?"

Laila looks up at Bella. "Is that fair?"

"Seems like a reasonable deal to me," Bella smiles, watching as Laila hands her money to Mary Alice for safekeeping.

Paul knocks on the door, which Jake opens a crack. "It's time," he says to his husband; the sound people quieting down can be heard. "You need to get upstage, babe."

Jake nods and rushes to Bella, giving her a tight hug and ignoring Mary Alice's cry of, _"Wrinkles, Jake!"_ Then Jake slips out of the room to go take his place as the piano player for the wedding.

Rosalie holds her hand out to Laila. "Time to go take our places, too. Mary Alice?" Alice nods and squeezes Bella's hand once, waddling behind Rosalie and Laila. Rosalie looks back and smiles. "Come on, Bella. Five minutes."

Bella follows along, feeling relaxed as ever, her thumb twirling Edward's rings on her finger. Those five minutes pass so fast, Billy at her side, watching her best friends and her daughter walk down the aisle, Jake's original song filtering through.

And then she's walking forward, seeing Edward at the end.

He's so handsome – he'd lost some of that boyishness in his face, his jaw slightly more square, covered in dark stubble that he couldn't seem to get rid of. His burnt sienna hair had grown a smidge darker and more wild, his shoulders had broadened along with his height.

And he loved her.

His coke-bottle green eyes are watery when they are finally standing in front of each other and Bella knows she's no better.

The moment is especially important because Pastor Abbott was marrying them; she had forgiven him a long time ago, too, along with Edward.

The vows are traditional; the rings they exchange are silver and matching, slightly thin bands so that they can play their instruments easily.

They share a kiss – heart stopping with a background of cheers and Emmett whistling.

The reception passes in a flash for Bella; she and Edward dance with their daughter, their parents, their in-laws, their band mates, each other. She smashes cake into his face after he delicately feeds her the traditional first cut. Laila catches Bella's flowers and Edward tells her, in no uncertain terms, that she's not allowed to date until she's thirty.

And then, before Bella can fully process how, she and Edward are in their New York apartment – which was more of a penthouse – and kissing each other breathless. Gone are the days where Edward's kisses were hesitant; he claimed her mouth with a force that spoke of promises to come.

His hands on her body were gentle, though, reverent, stroking and caressing and sending shivers through her entire body. She gasps into his mouth when his hand cups her breast through her dress – not necessarily a new move, but certainly a move made with more confidence.

Bella wiggles out of her dress when they reach the bedroom and helps Edward out of his simple dark grey suit, throwing his tie over her shoulder while he steps out of his shoes. She keeps her lips connected to that place between his shoulder and neck, the one that makes him groan so deliciously.

Then, somehow, Bella is naked on her back, Edward's bare hips pressing against her own. Her head is thrown back, hands buried in his hair as his lips move down her throat, nipping and sucking. The nakedness was new and it made Bella's skin feel so sensitive, like Edward was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

They'd been good. Honest. Pure and chaste. Edward had only ever slipped to second base and it had been an accident. So when his hand slides down her stomach, pausing at the two scars on her lower abdomen, Bella gasps, feeling his long fingers brushing through the trimmed curls of her sex.

"Edward?"

His hooded eyes look up at her, his face flushed in that endearing way of his – he looks rattled but innocent, his brows furrowed slightly. His hand pauses. "I- what? Is this…not okay?"

Bella soothes him, brushing hair away from his face, feeling a brush creeping down her chest. "It's more than okay. I just…I love you."

Edward kisses her soundly, nipping her bottom lip when he pulls away, his fingers finally sliding against her slick sex. "I love you," he tells her, as if in promise.

Bella's hands clutch his shoulders as he introduces himself to her body, fingers gentle and hot and probing, slowing sinking _inside_ of her. She thought it would be more awkward and, to an extent, it is – the confidence Edward has while kissing her is not there. Instead he takes his time, fumbling around until he finds a particular spot that makes Bella gasp; then, like he plays his guitar, he focuses on that spot. Bella cries out when his thumb brushes against the very top of her sex, against an overly sensitive bundle of nerves that makes her hips jolt up, forcing the two fingers inside her further in.

She shivers. Lets out a startled moan when Edward's thumb continues to push and rub and circle that spot – and then cries out his name when her entire body clenches around his fingers.

Edward's eyes are heavy, dark green, lingering as he pulls his hand away and adjusts his position, settling his narrow hips between Bella's shaking legs.

Her hips rock up to meet his when he presses his sex against her own, a tingle shooting up her spine as she feels the weight of his body pressing hers onto the mattress. He kisses her again and buries his face into her neck.

"Ready?" he asks, rubbing the length of himself over her slick folds, which still clench with the aftershocks of her first orgasm.

Bella nods, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and spreading her legs wider for him. Edward reaches down and guides himself to her entrance, pushing forward until just the head is seated inside; Bella's face twists at the feeling. Not painful but _odd_, very different from his fingers. "It's okay. Go ahead."

Edward is shaking, his mind reeling already as he slowly pushes forward, pausing when he meets resistance and then forces himself past her virginity. Bella gasps at the sharp sting, which fades quickly. Edward clenches his jaw and closes his eyes – he thinks of anything except the feeling of Bella, tight, hot, wet, wrapped around him.

His lips find her neck again when he begins to thrust and the room is soon filled with his breathless groans and Bella's tiny gasps and moans. He doesn't last long and Bella doesn't find that euphoric feeling again, but it's perfect – for them.

Afterwards, after using a warm washcloth to clean up the mess – _who knew it was so messy?_ – they lay together, Bella's chin on Edward's chest, all three of her rings glinting in the dim light of the room.

Bella kisses Edward's chest, his hand smoothing down to the small of her back. "_Love is patient, love is kind…._"

* * *

**A/N: One more EPILOGUE to go!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	36. Ten Years Later

**Disclaimer: God knows I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Ten Years Later**

The were supposed to be recording but somehow, between Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, they had entered a discussion of when it was appropriate for teenage girls to date.

Bella was, of course, left out of the discussion, along with Jake, who had adopted a son with Paul. She rolls her eyes when Billy cuts into the conversation from the sound booth, agreeing with Emmett's insistence that dating at 17 should be illegal.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," she mutters to Jake. "Seriously. We're in our thirties. It wasn't _that_ long ago that we were all dating as teenagers."

Jake snorts. "And we started dating earlier. Or, Emmett did, at least. He and Rosalie have been together since they were fifteen. I should throw something at him."

Bella sighs. "You can't. He breaks enough things without people throwing things at him. That's his fourth set of drum sticks this week."

Jake laughs. "What's your take on this, then? I mean, your husband and best friend are really adamant about thirty being the right time to start."

Bella narrows her eyes at Edward and Jasper. "You should have _heard_ the discussions when Laila was 16. I won, in the end, because I know she's a smart girl. But Edward was ready to lock her away in a tower. He's only on this kick again because Cassie just turned 14 and Abigail was begging him last week to let her hang out with her male friends after school."

Jake grins. "Glad I don't have these problems with Seth."

"Yet," she says. "Have you _seen_ the way he looks at Abigail?"

"He's twelve, Bella. Twelve. And she's eleven."

"Laila told me that Abi has a crush on Seth," Bella confesses in what she thinks is a quiet voice.

But Edward hears her.

"_No_," he says, standing quickly. "Please, no! It's too soon! Jake, ground your son. I don't want him around my daughter!"

Jake looks at him with wide eyes. "Are you _serious?_"

Bella snorts.

Jasper stands up to. "Edward's right, we need to stop this right now."

Bella raises a brow at him. "Naomi is ten, Jasper."

"She's growing up so fast," he says mournfully. "Mary Alice is letting her paint her nails now. She doesn't even call me _Daddy_ any more; now I'm Dad. Just _Dad_."

"Eve just turned two," Emmett says, standing up. "And I'm _never_ going to let her date."

Bella shakes her head. "You're all ridiculous. I mean, you all met your wives when you were how old?" None of them answer and Bella smirks. "That's what I thought. Kids grow up. Get over it."

Edward frowns. "Hannah is five. There's still time to-"

"Edward," Bella says quickly, cutting him off. "We are not going to raise Hannah any differently than we have our other girls."

"But-"

"And besides, Laila came out alright."

"Laila is _engaged! _At twenty one!"

Bella just stares at him with a raised brow.

_We were engaged at twenty-one, too. Men. _

From her pocket, her phone chimes and Bella turns away to answer it – Laila is calling. "Hey, chickadee."

"Hey, Mom," Laila sighs into the phone, pausing to yell at some cabbie that _she's walking here, you know_. "Sorry about that. It's like they don't see pedestrians or something. Anyway, Joseph just called," she tells Bella, speaking her fiancé's name with a happy lilt. "Your paperwork at the agency just went through."

Bella smiles. "Yeah? That's wonderful. I think your Dad could use this good news."

Laila snorts. "Is he turning into a dragon Dad again, wanting to lock those girls up in some ivory tower?"

"You know him so well."

"Yeah, well, I _did_ warn the girls not to tell Dad if they have a crush."

Bella winces. "Unfortunately, he knows about Abigail's."

"Mom! You weren't supposed to say anything!"

Bella huffs. "It's not like _I_ told him, or something. I was just talking to Jake."

"You know Dad has super sonic hearing for these kinds of things."

"It's called selective hearing," Bella says, tossing a _look_ over her shoulder to her oblivious husband, who was now talking about the "Rules of Dating _My_ Daughters" with great conviction. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know. Can we pick him up today?"

"Yeah, Joe's with him right now. In fact, the sooner the better. Or are you still recording?"

"No, Emmett and your dad derailed _that_ and dragged Jasper into it. Billy is even participating and his girl is only seven. But we'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, love you, Mom."

"Love you too," Bella responds, disconnecting the call and turning back to her husband. "Edward, we need to go now."

"Huh?"

Bella raises her brows. "Joe called."

Instantly, Edward's face lights up. Bella couldn't get over how excited he got when the adoption papers went through and they got to take another child home. Her desire to fill her home with children was constantly fulfilled and Edward never made her feel like less of a wife and mother for not being able to give him biological children; in fact, he seemed to welcome the children with more enthusiasm that Bella could ever think of mustering.

"Let's go then!"

They catch a cab to the adoption agency and pass through the security clearance easily, going up to Joe's kid-friendly office on the elevator. Joe was intimidating at first, with dark hair that brushed his shoulders, and piercings through his ears and nose – he was tall, rather bulky, and covered in tattoos. And he loved Laila as much as Edward loved Bella, which was all she could ever ask for.

"Hey, future in-laws," he greets.

Edward grins at him easily, pulling him into a hug and clapping him on the back; they were rather close in age, as Joseph was twenty-eight. "How's my boy?"

"Well, I'm fine-"

"My _other_ boy," Edward deadpans.

Bella smiles at Joe and bypasses her husband, stopping just as she enters the room to look at the little boy who stole her heart – Zane, with his curly penny-colored hair and dark grey eyes, six years old to the day. He reminded her of her parents with his eyes, and of Laila with his bright, light hair. He was a sweet, gentle boy, and a musical prodigy. They'd met him a few times before now and each time, he'd look so disappointed when they left.

And today, they wouldn't be leaving without him.

Edward's hand curls over her shoulder and she looks up at him with a smile. They approach Zane and crouch down on his level. Zane puts down the book he was looking through and gazes at them with large, trusting, child-like eyes.

Edward and Bella had adopted many children over the years, most of whom still lived at home, and another who was in college, and of course Laila, the first. But there was something special about Zane and made her question she always asked these children all the more important. "Would you like to come home with us?"

Zane licks his lips and looks between Edward and Bella. His file was dark, full of abuse like Laila's, but Bella held hope for him. "I can this time?"

Edward smiles at him the same way he smiles at his daughters. "You can always come home with us, Zane."

Zane's large grey eyes smile with the rest of his face, showing off the gap in his teeth. He reaches forward and hugs Bella tightly and she allows a few tears to escape as Edward wraps his arms around both of them.

Bella's heart spreads warmth through her body as she welcomes another child into her soul – a child that she didn't give birth to, but a child that was hers all the same.

_Hallelujah_. _Praise the Lord. Thank you, God._

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter is the playlist and my final Author's Note. Please continue!**

**~cupcakeriot**


	37. The Playlist and The Quotes

**Playlist and The Quotes:**

Chapter 1 - Jer 29:11

Chapter 2 - If by House of Heroes

Chapter 3 - 1 Pet 5:7

Chapter 4 - Swept Away by Flyleaf

Chapter 5 - New Horizons by Flyleaf

Chapter 6 - Romans 10: 11-13

Chapter 7 - Hebrews 13:2

Chapter 8 - Exodus 20:17 tenth commandment

Chapter 9 - Fully Alive by Flyleaf

Chapter 10 - Cassie (acoustic) by Flyleaf

Chapter 11 - Matthew 7:7

Chapter 12 - Exodus 20:16 ninth commandment

Chapter 13 - Set Apart by Flyleaf

Chapter 14 - Romans 8:35

Chapter 15 - Exodus 20:15 eighth commandment

Chapter 16 - Have We Lost by Flyleaf

Chapter 17 - Exodus 20:14 seventh commandment

Chapter 18 - Arise by Flyleaf

Chapter 19 - Peter 4:8

Chapter 20 - Exodus 20:13 sixth commandment

Chapter 21 - Psalm 3:6

Chapter 22 - There for You by Flyleaf

Chapter 23 - Exodus 20:12 fifth commandment

Chapter 24 - Galatians 5:22-23

Chapter 25 - Exodus 20:11 fourth commandment

Chapter 26 - Tiny Heart by Flyleaf

Chapter 27 - Exodus 20:7 third commandment

Chapter 28 - Exodus 20:4-6 second commandment

Chapter 29 - Exodus 20:2-3 first commandment

Chapter 30 - Stand by Flyleaf

Chapter 31 - Matthew 25:40

Chapter 32 - Cassie by Flyleaf

Chapter 33 - John 3:16 and Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley version)

* * *

**The Final A/N:**

**When I started this story, I don't know what I was thinking – maybe I thought I could prove a point that not all religion is bad or maybe that one's religion doesn't matter. Maybe this was an extended metaphor to not **_**judge a book by it's cover**_**. Maybe I just wanted to show how judgment can truly affect people. Maybe I wanted to examine the Ten Commandments and interpret their meanings in modern ways. Maybe I wanted to purge my own demons, my own negative experiences with religion. **

**Or maybe, I don't know what I was doing when I was writing it. I can admit that.**

**If you've made it to this final page of Hallelujah, then I hope reading this did something for you, because I know it altered me in ways I can't even describe. In many ways, I felt like I was writing **_**myself**_**, not Bella– and that was liberating.**

**I said in The General Disclaimer that I was no expert in religion – any religion – and that holds true. I'm not an expert in anything. I'm human. I'm imperfect. I make mistakes and I can be horrible and I can be amazing. If anything, I hope this story can help you realize that God is forgiveness as much as He is God. Making mistakes is okay. I hope this story helped you or entertained you, at the very least.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed – your personal stories, your favorite quotes from the Bible, your thoughts on religion, your encouragement, your confessions, and your support all made **_**Hallelujah**_**.**

**So, I'm signing off on this story. I'm saying good-bye to these characters. I love them, but they told their story.**

**As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.**

**~cupcakeriot**


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